Ranji Trophy 2012-13, Round V, Day 1

In Mumbai, Mumbai 262 for 7 v Bengal

In Mohali, Rajasthan 222 v Punjab 20 for 1

In Valsad, Gujarat 254 for 2 v Hyderabad

In Lahli, near Rohtak, Haryana 219 for 6 v Delhi

In Kanpur, Baroda 254 v UP 18 for 0

In Sambalpur, Maharashtra 264 for 7 v Odisha

In Guwahati, J&K 240 for 7 v Assam

In Nagpur, Tamil Nadu 235 for 3 v Vidarbha

In Rajkot, Saurashtra 227 for 4 v Railways

In Nadaun, Tripura 325 for 4 v Himachal Pradesh

In Vizag, Andhra 240 for 5 v Goa

In Delhi, Kerala 192 for 5 v Services

Centuries today for Smit Patel (Gujarat), S Badrinath (Tamil Nadu), Ravindra Jadeja (Saurashtra), Subhrajit Roy (Tripura), V Jagadeesh (Kerala). Four-wicket hauls for Laxmi Shukla (Bengal), Ankit Rajpoot (UP), Siddarth Kaul (Punjab), Arup Das (Assam). Balanced day between bat and ball. We'll be back tomorrow for day two and more domestic action. Good bye.

Gujarat on a comfortable 248 for 1 against Hyderabad in Valsad, southern part of the state. In the western side, Saurashtra have reached 201 for 4 in Rajkot, with Ravindra Jadeja nearing another century.

Fair to say it has been a bowlers' day in many games today. Baroda have been dismissed for 254 in Kanpur against UP. Punjab have restricted defending champions Rajasthan to 222 in Mohali. Bengal have Mumbai seven down, while Maharashtra are 264 for 7 against Odisha.

They have now lost Ankeet Chavan. Says our man Sid Talya from the Brabourne Stadium: "Chavan gone, caught at second slip off Laxmi Shukla, who takes his fourth wicket. Mumbai are 248 for 7, Chavan made 35."

Indian Under-19 wicketkeeper Smit Patel has reached his century in Valsad, where Gujarat are 230 for 1 against Hyderabad. Smit debuted in first-class cricket this season, and made fifties in each of his first four games. This is his fifth.

In Guwahati, it is already stumps as we started an hour earlier than the rest of the country. J&K 240 for 7 v Assam

In Vizag, Andhra 200 for 5 v Goa, Amol Muzumdar 41*

In Delhi, Kerala 131 for 4 v Services

In Nadaun, Tripura 269 for 4 v Himachal Pradesh, Subhrajit Roy out for 111, his maiden first-class hundred

Ravindra Jadeja started the season with an unbeaten triple century against Gujarat, he took nine wickets, including a six-for against Hyderabad, and now he's batting on 77 against Railways. Saurashtra 170 for 4.

Tamil Nadu 176 for 2 v Vidarbha in Nagpur. Badrinath unbeaten on 73, Dinesh Karthik on 31. Badri got two Tests, just two. And to think that some people say he got enough opportunities.

Our man Sid Talya: "Manoj Tiwary regularly chatting with his seamers. He does his own stretching exercises in-between balls off and on. Quite pro-active as captain. He's just taken out a slip and placed him at silly mid-on to Ankeet Chavan. And he's himself moved to silly mid-off." Mumbai 197 for 5, three of them to Laxmi Shukla.

Baroda have just lost their seventh wicket, after two set batsmen, Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Devdhar, departed earlier.

The defending champions, who are playing without Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Robin Bist today, are 211 for 8 against Punjab in Mohali.

Mumbai 181 for 5 v Bengal

Gujarat have lost just one wicket. India Under-19 wicketkeeper Smit Patel is unbeaten on 87.

Tamil Nadu 156 for 2 v Vidarbha

Haryana 165 for 3 v Delhi

Rajasthan 172 for 7 v Punjab

Baroda 209 for 5 v UP

Sid Talya sends this from the CCI: "Another wicket for Bengal, and it’s the well-set Abhishek Nayar. Slightly short outside off and Nayar dragged it back on to the stumps. A well-made half-century, again, like Jaffer, he looked good for more. Nayar made 62 off 129 balls, struck eight fours and a six. Mumbai are 172 for 5 after 60.2 overs. Tare is currently unbeaten on 10, and joining him in the middle is Ankeet Chavan."

Medium-pacer Ankit Rajpoot, 18, has rocked Baroda again in his second first-class game. The ball is still moving around in Green Park, and Rajpoot has got Rayudu caught behind for his third wicket. And Suresh Raina has brought himself on to bowl now.

Gujarat 163 for 1 v Hyderabad. Smit Patel still there on 76

Rajasthan 151 for 5 v Punjab

Baroda 174 for 4 v UP

Haryana 142 for 2 v Delhi

Maharashtra 161 for 5 v Odisha

Saurashtra 90 for 3 v Railways

J&K 196 for 6 v Assam

Tamil Nadu 136 for 2 v Vidarbha

Andhra 121 for 3 v Goa. Amol Muzumdar latest man in

The nerves jangle once again. Wasim Jaffer goes 20 short of his 45th first-clas century. Sid Talya brings the bad news for Mumbai followers: "Laxmi Shukla has struck in the first over of his new spell. Jaffer’s gone, closed the face and got a leading edge at extra cover. A simple catch, he was looking good for a big one was Jaffer. Shukla takes his third. Mumbai are 150 for 4, Nayar’s reached a half-century. Jaffer is gone for 80 in 151 balls, 218 minutes, 14 fours. Abhishek Jhunjhunwala was the catcher, Aditya Tare is the new man. The partnership was worth 104 off 190 balls."

Our man Sid Talya writes: "Jaffer and Nayar have batted for over two hours now. They're now involved in a century stand, brought up off 184 balls. Jaffer's batting on 80, and Nayar is on 48. A strong recovery from Mumbai. Nayar brought up that century stand with a six over deep midwicket off Iresh Saxena. Mumbai 146 for 3." Not many things in the world calm the nerves as much as a long Jaffer innings, I tell you.

Akash Chandran, our reader, raises an important point: "Ajinyka Rahane should have played this match for Mumbai. He could have played this match which ends on 4th and set off to Kolkata to join the India team for the Test starting on the 5th morning. By being continously out of action he may lose his form and may not be prepared when he finally gets his chance for India." Could soon be in the same position as Manoj Tiwary finds himself often in the ODI side. Then some will say no one is pushing the senior players. The question is, if you don't have contenders playing regularly when the domestic season is on, how are they expected to push for places in the national team?

Odisha are on a roll. They didn't win a game for four years. Now they have won two in two, against Haryana and Karnataka. In Sambalpur, they have Maharashtra at 160 for 5.

Ambati Rayudu has reached 59 against UP on a green pitch at Green Park, Kanpur. Little Kedar Devdhar on 32. Baroda recovering to 144 for 4 from 83 for 4. Green Park produces such beauties regularly during the domestic season. Of course, when it comes to Test matches, there is nothing green about its pitch [runs and hides from MS Dhoni].

Rajasthan have lost Ashok Menaria for 32 in Mohali against Punjab. They are 137 for 5 now. For those who haven't watched Menaria, a former India Under-19 captain, bat, you haven't missed much, for there is one Yuvraj Singh who you must have seen over the years. There is a striking resemblance, in the way they cover-drive, in the way they defend on the front foot, even in the way they walk. During the Ranji final of 2010-11, Menaria was asked about the similarities. "We are both left-handers," he tried. That question is not going anywhere so soon, Ashok.

We go into the second session on day one, apart from Guwahati in the far east where it has already been underway for some time. Jammu & Kashmir have reached 183 for 4 against Assam there.

Watch out for Smit Patel, Under-19 World Cup winner, who has reached his fifth first-class fifty in as many matches in Valsad against Hyderabad.

This from Lahli, near Rohtak, where Haryana v Delhi is on: "Like Vijay Dahiya [Delhi coach] predicted, it is a most un-Lahli like wicket – bare, brown, no grass, and the same wicket on which the previous match against Baroda was played. Nehra is not playing and Delhi's bowlers are: Awana, Narwal, Vikas Mishra and Manoj Chauhan the offie."

Mumbai 96 for 3. "Jaffer is on 60 off 108 (11 fours) and Nayar is batting on 18. They have put together 50, a decent recovery from 46 for 3. Shukla’s been the best of the bowlers so far, with figures of 9-2-21-2," writes our man Sid Talya from the CCI.

Gujarat 111 for 0 v Hyderabad

Baroda 108 for 4 v UP

Rajasthan, missing Kanitkar and Bist, are 121 for 4 v Punjab

Haryana 98 for 1 v Delhi

Maharashtra 91 for 3 Odisha

Saurashtra 66 for 3 v Railways

Tamil Nadu 71 for 1 v Vidarbha

Tripura 106 for 2 v Himachal Pradesh

Andhra 77 for 2 v Goa

... to go with 44 centuries. Mumbai have started their recovery from the jolts of the morning. They are 86 for 3. Jaffer 56*, Nayar 12*. As our man Sid Talya, who is watching the game at the CCI, had said when Bengal put down Jaffer on 16, "You don't drop Jaffer." He now needs less than 140 to reclaim the record for most Ranji runs from former team-mate Amol Muzumdar, who reclaimed the record from Jaffer a couple of weeks back. Muzumdar meanwhile is waiting for his turn to bat for Andhra, who are 77 for 2 against Goa in Vizag

In Sambalpur, Odisha, Maharashtra are 88 for 3 against the hosts. Virag Awate, who made a century in each innings on first-class debut against Vidarbha last round, is out for 25.

A few hours up the road from Mumbai is the town of Valsad, where Gujarat have motored to 97 for 0 against Hyderabad.

Defending champions Rajasthan are 104 for 3 against team-of-the-season-so-far Punjab in Mohali.

Haryana have begun well at their home ground in Lahli, near Rohtak. They are 75 for 1 against neighbours Delhi

In Nagpur, Tamil Nadu are doing their version of the crawl, having reached 38 for 0 in the 24th over against Vidarbha. On the positive side, at least there is no rain, so far, in a game involving Tamil Nadu.

Saurashtra are 57 for 2 against Railways in aapro Rajkot. The ageless wonder Sanjay Bangar, technically 40, has taken a wicket, and Ravindra Jadeja is batting on 14.

In Kanpur, Baroda are 53 for 3 against UP. Latest man out is Rakesh Solanki, first-class debutant at the age of 17 in 2002-03, of whom so much was expected. He is to Baroda cricket what Ambati Rayudu, his team-mate and captain, is to Indian cricket in some ways. Great deeds were to be done by both in their spheres, but somehow, they have never quite come off.

Shock. Horror. Mumbai disintegrating in the heart of their financial district. Captain gone. Wait for the gory details from Sid Talya, who has had to watch the carnage from close quarters at the CCI.

Read Mumbai followers, this from Sid Talya: "Shukla’s on a roll. Rohit is caught behind. Bowled on a good length and moved away, Rohit got a stride out and played at it. Thick edge, and Saha dived to his right to catch it. Rohit’s performance would be closely monitored, his Bengal counterpart Manoj Tiwary, also staking a claim for a place in the Test squad, was watching him from mid-off. Rohit c Saha b Shukla 1, 7 balls, 8 minutes. Mumbai are 46 for 3 in 19.4 overs. Jaffer is 28. Abhishek Nayar is the new man in."

Mumbai have lost Hiken Shah for a duck now. What is happening? Hiken's previous scores this season - 1, 105, 105, 107, 92, 140, 156. All upto that man Rohit Sharma. Is Manoj Tiwary chuckling at point mid-off?

Mumbai 39 for 1 in 16.3 overs. Our man Sid Talya says: "Kaustubh Pawar had played left-arm spinner Iresh Saxena well, cracking him for three fours. He stepped out to him, it spun away as he tried to push and he was stumped by Wriddhiman Saha. Jaffer is there on 22. Hiken Shah is the new man in."

Kaustubh Pawar, or Mumbai's very own KP, as our man Amol Karhadkar says, out stumped. Now i have seen everything. Allow me my small lament. Modernity has chewed away at one of the last standing pillars of traditional khadoos Mumbai batting. Pawar batted eight hours to make 161 in last year's quarter-final against Madhya Pradesh in Indore and was called the quintessential Mumbai batsman by coach Sulakshan Kulkarni.

Sid Talya is shocked: "Oh dear! You don't drop Jaffer. Laxmi Shukla's the unfortunate bowler. Was slightly short and moved away, he pushed at it, got a thick edge and a straightforward chance went down at second slip. Jaffer was on 16. Three balls later, he cracks Shukla again through cover for four. Mumbai are 33 for 0 in the 14th over."

Mumbai are 25 for 0. Well, my hopes of the Arabian Sea, the Bengal quicks and the CCI grass combining to trouble the home batsmen have been dashed. Here is the latest from Sid Talya: "No prodigious movement, minimal so far. Laxmi Shukla got a couple to nip back in and appealed when the batsman wasn't offering the shot, but it didn't move back in enough to hit the stumps. Iresh Saxena, the left-arm spinner, has been introduced in the 11th over. A bit of turn for him in the first over." He ends with this lament: "So much for the grass."

Up north in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh have taken out the Baroda openers cheaply. It is winter on the banks of the Ganga, and the ball is nipping around.

He has returned from the Haj pilgrimage and is also opening the batting for Mumbai again, after quite some time. Our man Amol Karhadkar caught up with him.

Sharda tells us that Harshal Patel, the fast bowler who had an incredible run in the Ranji knockouts last year with eight-fors in the quarters and semis, is back to play his first match this season for Haryana. My colleague Nikita Bastian had interviewed Harshal after those performances. Read

More from Sid Talya, who's braved the peak-hour train torture all the way from Thane to Mumbai CST. "From an open-air press box, there's some grass visible on the track," Talya writes. "The captains had said yesterday they were happy with the pitch, as they felt it would assist fast bowlers. Tiwary, the Bengal captain, had spoken about pace bowling being his side's strength, and it wasn't a surprise when he chose to field first after winning the toss. There's a gentle breeze blowing, conditions are quite pleasant. There are still a few people doing their morning walks outside the boundary." Got to love the Cricket Club of India, and the morning and evening walks.

Our man Siddhartha Talya is at the Brabourne Stadium watching Mumbai take on Bengal. The sides are led by two men who have been competing for a place in the Indian limited-overs team for some time now, Rohit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary. Bengal have chosen to field

Sharda Ugra, our senior editor, informs me that Haryana are batting against Delhi in Lahli, near Rohtak, near Delhi

Domestic cricket is back, after a three-day break. Teams have hopped from one corner of the country to another within that short time, and it is not as easy as taking a direct flight from say, Delhi to Mumbai. For instance, Himachal Pradesh have travelled all the way from Ranchi in Jharkhand to Nadaun in Himachal Pradesh. Wonder what it must be doing to the fast bowlers. However, it is the Ranji Trophy, the country's premier cricket tournament, and the biggest chance (I would still like to believe) for players to impress the national selectors.