Ranji Trophy 2012-13, Round VII, Day 1

5.10 pm That is it from us for day one. See you tomorrow morning. Good bye

Baroda's last pair gave them a heart-stopping one-wicket win against Haryana earlier this season. Murtuja Vahora and Bhargav Bhatt have now revived the innings from 128 to 181 against Tamil Nadu

Haryana 32 for 1 v UP 227 (Arish Alam 52, Mohit Sharma 5-47)

Karnataka 292 for 2 (Rahul 139*, Gautam 119*) v Vidarbha

Bengal a sorry 79 for 8 (Ashish Reddy 5-30) v Hyderabad 115

Railways 236 for 3 (Shukla 109*) v Rajasthan

Mumbai 304 for 2 (Tare 122*, Rohit 70*) v Saurashtra

MP 266 for 5 (Bundela 86*) v Punjab

Himachal 168 for 4 v Goa

Jharkhand 153 for 6 (Saurabh Tiwary 73*) v Andhra

Kerala 275 for 5 (Rohan Prem 105*) v Tripura

Services 150 for 6 (Paliwal 66*) v J&K 85

Light has started to fade across the country. After Dhanbad to the east, it is Delhi's turn to the north. Delhi 60 for 3 in reply to Maharashtra's 196. Manhas 12*, Rawal 16*

The MP captain has taken his side past 250

Sharda Ugra: "Maharashtra's Samad Fallah has bowled 10 overs on the go, his spell ending at 10-2-23-2, with two beauties that got Unmukt Chand and Mohit Sharma. Anupam Sanklecha replaces him."

Uttar Pradesh 218 for 7 in Lucknow, Raina (49) and Parvinder Singh (32) put on 72 for the fourth wicket but Harshal Patel had both caught behind. Arish Alam has carried the hosts past 200 with a swift fifty.

Aditya Tare 111*, Rohit Sharma 30*, Mumbai 246 for 2 v Saurashtra

Sharda Ugra from the Roshanara: "Run-out. Direct hit from Mundhe at mid-off. Dhawan went through for a sharp single. Delhi 34 for 3. In comes Vaibhav Rawal."

Shivakant Shukla has reached his century, Parag Madkaikar his half-century, and Railways 209 for 3 against Rajasthan

All happening at Eden. Bengal are 59 for 6 in reply to Hyderabad's 115. Anwar Ahmed has taken three wickets, as has Ashish Reddy. Opener Arindam Das resisting yet again, on 22

After 16 went down in around 48 overs earlier today. Services are 76 for 6, and in line to take the lead over J&K, who made 85.

KL Rahul (83*) and CM Gautam (63*) have taken Karnataka to 180 for 2 against Vidarbha

Our reader abhi tells us about 1000 people are watching this game at the Gangothri Glades ground in Mysore. Which is so much better than the dozen or two that turn up at the regular and bigger centres. Surprisingly, a very decent crowd has turned up in Jamtha on the outskirts of Nagpur to watch the India-England Test. Nagpur was always known for oranges, not Test crowds.

Writes Sharda Ugra from the Roshanara Club ground in the national capital: "First Delhi man to fall - Unmukt Chand, bowled by Samad Fallah. Beauty of a ball. And 16 for 2 now. Mohit Sharma shoulders arms to one that came in from Fallah."

Ajinkya Rahane has been caught behind against offspinner Kamlesh Makvana in Rajkot, where Aditya Tare is on 99 and Mumbai are 212 for 2 v Saurashtra

The MP captain is on 51, but Punjab's Baltej Singh has removed Harpreet Singh for 30. MP 201 for 5

The Baroda captain has taken his side past 100 from 71 for 7. They are now 113 for 7 against Tamil Nadu. But he's gone now, caught off Sunil Sam for 54. Baroda 117 for 8. I am told that "the [Moti Bagh] pitch has bounce, and something for the new ball off the seam. Good controlled bowling" from Tamil Nadu.

Says Sharda: "Fallah has a unique trigger movement, he backs off from the stumps to make room and swings his bat. That gives rise to a snick past the keeper and first slip for four. Next ball, Suyal decides bowling straight might work and it does, dramatically the middle stump flies out of the ground." And it is an early tea, with Delhi having 35 overs to bat today. All seam attack working for Delhi - three to Narwal, two each to Suyal and Sangwan, one each to Tokas and Bhatia.

Says Sharda Ugra: "Bawne is gone, caught behind on a bad flashy cut at the start of Suyal's third spell for 58 (128b, 6x4). Maharashtra 181 for 9. Samad Falah has come at No. 11 and struck two boundaries going for whatever he can throw the bat at. He stepped away from the line of the ball against Suyal now and tried a helicopter hoick to who knows where, the ball spooned up to the fielder at gully. All the excitement for nothing. It was a no-ball from Suyal."

After J&K managed 85 in under 30 overs, Services have lost four for 35 in Delhi. Fourteen wickets already. Services' Suraj Yadav taking four, J&K's Ram Dayal replying with three.

Suresh Raina on 42 in Lucknow, Parvinder Singh on 16, Uttar Pradesh 121 for 3 after having been 63 for 3 v Haryana

Sharda Ugra tells us: "Sanklecha struck an over-pitched ball from Sangwan for a boundary and flicked the next. As the ball raced to the fence, Narwal, running towards it, tumbled over. Trepidation broke out that he may have been badly hurt. However, Narwal is made of tougher stuff. He sat on a white plastic chair outside the boundary, had a sip of water and now is back on the field. And then inexplicably Sanklecha stepped out and tried to pull Sangwan, and was caught behind. Sanklecha c Bisht b Sangwan 14. Maharashtra 170 for 8.

"Narwal, despite tumbling and falling and giving everyone in the Delhi camp a few heart flutters, has returned to bowl a new spell, replacing Bhatia. He's immediately got one to jump at Bawne's face."

He has the remarkable figures of 13-8-9-5. Baroda are anything but remarkable at 79 for 7. Ambati Rayudu battling on 30.

Mumbai have lost their stalwart. Jaffer caught-and-bowled Sanandiya for 79 off 116. Aditya Tare on 63, India's perennial drinks man Ajinkya Rahane has just come in. Better to have a bat in hand than a bottle of energy drink.

Ashish Reddy has got Rohan Banerjee leg-before for a 23-ball duck. Bengal 12 for 1 in reply to 115

... which was the last thing Maharashtra needed. Shrikant Mundhe hit the ball to covers and set out to take a single. He was turned back by Bawne by which time Narwal threw it back to the keeper. Munde run out 42 (73b 86m 7x4) Maharashtra 147 for 7 in 44.4 overs v Delhi

And next instant, BOWLED, says Sharda Ugra, but Pradeep Sangwan has overstepped. Sanklecha the man to survive, Bawne gets to fifty

The India U19 and Punjab quick bowler has just removed Udit Birla, leaving MP on 126 for 4 in Gwalior. He leads the wicket-takers' list with 33 now for the season

Our senior editor Sharda Ugra: "Three consecutive boundaries in Vikas Tokas' second over after lunch - by Shrikant Mundhe. Maharashtra 122 for 6. First cover driven, second slash through slip and gully and third turned to the square-leg boundary. Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya taking brisk walks around the ground shouting frequent encouragement."

Boundaries continue to be hit. "The batsmen in excitement at seeing the ball speeding past almost smashed into each other," says Sharda. Counter-attack on.

Shami Ahmed has bowled Nos 9 and 10 to finish with 4 for 36. Hyderabad have lasted 37.1 overs. Veer Pratap Singh has 3 for 31. Bengal have come out to bat at Eden Gardens

MP 116 for 3, Jalaj Saxena has fallen to Punjab's Baltej Singh for 84 off 109

Railways 91 for 3, Sanjay Bangar out for 4 against Rajasthan

Mumbai 92 for 0, Wasim Jaffer 51*, Aditya Tare 39* v Saurashtra

Karnataka 91 for 2 v Vidarbha, Robin Uthappa gone for 24

UP 68 for 3 v Haryana, Mohammad Kaif out for 11, Suresh Raina 7*

Baroda 67 for 5 v Tamil Nadu, three for Yo Mahesh, Rayudu 20*

Hyderabad 104 for 8 v Bengal

Jharkhand 32 for 3 v Andhra (plus, Saurabh Tiwary has retired on 15)

Sharda: "At lunch, Maharashtra are 107 for 6, in 33 overs. Bawne is batting 40 (88b, 5x4) and Munde batting on 11. The biggest partnership for Maharashtra is this one, but only 24 so big is small. And small is far from beautiful at this stage.

"Bawne, he of the orange streaked shoes. It is the only way we have been able to tell him from other half-sleeved right-hand batsmen."

The Ranji Trophy is played at some offbeat, picturesque venues, such as Himachal Pradesh's home ground in Nadaun near the river Beas, the Moti Bagh hidden inside the massive palace grounds in Vadodara. Sharda Ugra is at the Roshanara Club ground in Delhi for the game between the hosts and Maharashtra. She sends us this lovely picture

Sharda: "This is the Roshanara Club, whose logo/emblem says it was established in 1922. The vast acreage of the club is behind us but the cricket ground is right at the front - it is made up of three low–rise buildings with the oldest at the centre with its Ionic pillared frontage topped by lovely colonial roofs."

They are 99 for 7 against Bengal in Kolkata. Three to Veer Pratap Singh, two to Shami Ahmed

Two games going on in Delhi. And wickets tumbling in both. Sharda Ugra first from the Roshanara club: "Maharashtra 83 for 6 in 24 overs - Another one bites the turf - Sangwan gets one to climb on Chirag Khurana, who is given caught behind - the nick didn't sound clearly or bat-like in the fairly clear Delhi winter. More a thud. But who are we to say what is a thin nick from about 70 yards away?" How any times do you hear about that? Not the nick, I mean a 'clear' Delhi winter.

And in Delhi again, J&K are 59 for 8 against Services. After two big wins, J&K are back on earth.

Win the toss, and bowl at Moti Bagh deep among the trees in the palace grounds of Vadodara. Tamil Nadu have done it, and Baroda are 36 for 4. Four draws from five games, TN can do with an outright now

Delhi lie in the middle of Group B, four teams above them, four below. This is their penultimate game of the league stage, they dearly need an outright win and they have done everything right this morning. Now Maharashtra's Kedar Jadhav is gone. Sharda Ugra writes from the Roshanara Club ground: "Maharashtra's heart has been broken - Jadhav out slashing Rajat Bhatia to Unmukt Chand at gully. 75 for 5."

Jalaj Saxena bowls steady offspin, he bats down the order, and he also opens the innings. He is batting on 38 off 52 and MP are 56 for the loss of Naman Ojha against group leaders Punjab.

Bengal's Veer Pratap Singh has taken three of the five wickets to fall in Kolkata - two of them bowled and one caught-behind. Hyderabad 74 for 5

J&K 44 for 5 v Services

Jharkhand 11 for 3 v Andhra

Himachal 12 for 1 (in the 16th over) v Goa. Aakash Chopra gone for 2 off 45 deliveries. Varun Sharma batting on 8 off 51. Taking the shine off the new ball the old-fashioned way

Kerala 94 for 2 v Tripura. Sreesanth is in the XI, playing his second (apologies) first match of the season, his first since November 2011. Gulp.

UP 37 for 1 v Haryana in Lucknow

Baroda 35 for 1 v Tamil Nadu in Vadodara

Our senior editor Sharda Ugra: "Kedar Jadhav has hit a stylish cover drive off Pradeep Sangwan; half volleyish almost but spanked handsomely; Sangwan has responded by getting one to rise towards Jadhav's ribs next ball. Sangwan's first over is turning into one of those long distance train journeys: never ending. Two no balls already." Talking about never-ending train journeys, I just went through one, from Mumbai to Jaunpur, 27 hours only. Was to have been 26, but the damn train remained stuck for an hour, a station before Jaunpur. You don't want to know more about it? Sad.

Railways 55 for 0 v Rajasthan in Cuttack

Mumbai 38 for 0 v Saurashtra in Rajkot

Karnataka 36 for 0 v Vidarbha in Mysore

The visitors are 58 for 3 in Kolkata. Bengal's Veer Pratap Singh has sent back Hanuma Vihari and K Sumanth.

Maharashtra captain Rohit Motwani caught driving at gully by Unmukt Chand off Sumit Narwal. Maharashtra 37 for 4 v Delhi

Sharda Ugra: "Narwal is bowling a superb length, and Tokas who is slightly quicker than him is getting more bounce. Kedar Jadhav has hit two boundaries in a row off Tokas, on either side of the wicket, one guided to third man and a stylish calming flick to the gap between midwicket and square leg. The Sabzi Mandi [station near the ground] train hoots in approval. Resistance!"

The wicketkeeper-opener has been trapped lbw by India U-19 quick Sandeep Sharma. MP 27 for 1 in Gwalior.

A former Railwayman, Vikas Tokas, has just bowled Harshad Khadiwale, and then beaten Maharashtra captain Rohit Motwani twice. Maharashtra are already three down.

Sharda Ugra, old Delhi NCR hand, happily writes in: "Khadiwale was totally beaten trying to defend and played all over the ball, middle stump knocked out. What Delhi could have done with Parvinder Awana here. There was some talk about having him being called up to play for this game. And certainly his pace here on a cloudy morning would have been hard to handle. But as was said, 'let him enjoy the India dressing room. He worked really hard to get there'." Somewhere in Pune, our man Amol Karhadkar murmurs, "Small mercy."

Red-hot Punjab have chosen to field in princely Gwalior against hosts Madhya Pradesh, who have not done badly at all this season given the scars of the sting operation. Amol Karhadkar finds out how they have managed to retain their sanity.

The Railwaymen are batting first and have reached 38 for 0 in their new base Cuttack against the defending champions Rajasthan

Mumbai, in desperate search of an outright win, or at least a first-innings lead, have got to 19 for 0 after winning the toss against Saurashtra in Rajkot

Maharashtra have been jolted at the Roshanara. Sharda has the details: "Pawan Suyal was changed after three overs in which he conceded 18 runs and the experienced Sumit Narwal brought on. Virag Awate bowled first ball, was trying to hoick him cross the line, work him way to on and the ball hit the top of off stump."

And Narwal is at it again. "Wicket no. 2," writes Sharda. "No.3 Sangram Atikkar out second ball, caught behind, by Bisht off Narwal. Atitkar has left glowering at the umpire. Maharashtra 26 for 2."

Play began at 9 am in the Bengal v Hyderabad game in the east of the country. Shami Ahmed, the nippy Bengal fast bowler, has bowled Hyderabad captain Akshath Reddy. Hyderabad 19 for 1

Sharda Ugra's eagle/hawk/falcon/kite eyes keeping a watch all around the Roshanara: "Club members are purposefully marching around the boundary. One child has gone past us carrying breakfast and a sports bottle wandering into the field. The tennis courts are just behind us and we are seated in a tent. And in a scenic aside, a train has just sounded old style. One of Delhi's numerous railway stations is right behind us."

Says Sharda: "Two fours from Harshad Khadiwale opened the match being played on the legendary Roshanara greentop, the first a full toss from Pawan Suyal... and the wicket decides to do a bit of chin-speak, being collected by the keeper at head height." When in need of bounce and seam, abandon the Kotla, go to the Roshanara. Of course, Delhi had no choice this time, their regular home venue is being prepared for the Indo-Pak ODI in early January

Our senior editor Sharda Ugra has made the journey across the capital to the Roshanara Club ground, and she writes in from the Delhi chill: "As promised Delhi are fielding four pace bowlers along with Rajat Bhatia as the fifth. Vikas Tokas makes his Delhi Ranji debut, and unlike what was vaguely talked about yesterday, Vikas Mishra is not in the playing eleven. Delhi's batting has failed to cross 275 in four innings, and as much is expected of its seasoned pros Mithun Manhas, Shikhar Dhawan and Bhatia, as is from its young trio of batsmen Unmukt Chand, Vaibhav Rawal and Mohit Sharma.

Maharashtra have made one change in their team from the XI that played Haryana in Pune, with Akshay Darekar being replaced by debutant medium-pacer Nikit Dhumal.

We are getting towards the business end of the Ranji Trophy, only two more rounds to go after this one. Apart from runaway Group A leaders Punjab, no team can claim to be absolutely safe of their place in the knockouts. Four days of excitement coming up then ...