Ranji Trophy kicks off in Central Zone

Central Zone kicked off its Ranji season on Saturday with Uttar Pradesh playing Railways at Delhi and Vidarbha facing off against Rajasthan at Jaipur. Uttar Pradesh, winning the toss at the Karnail Singh Stadium, elected to bat, but failed to capitalise on the decision. No partnerships of appreciable weight were built up, and Railways always seemed to take wickets at opportune moments.

The destroyer-in-chief, Murali Kartik, returned innings figures of 35-15-67-4, taking wickets up and down the order. For Uttar Pradesh, the top scorers were Nikhil Chopra (49*) and Mohammad Kaif (43). With other players chipping in, Uttar Pradesh were bowled out for 237 in exactly 100 overs.

Railways found itself two wickets down with little on the board, but Amit Pagnis and Yere Goud mended the breach. Goud, in particular, played with remarkable patience, dispatching the loose balls and building his innings with great care. At the close of Day Two, Goud was unbeaten on 92, with 11 fours and a six; Railways, at the time, was 199 for six.

At Jaipur's KL Saini Ground, Vidarbha opted to bat after winning the toss. Its openers made the most of the advantage by posting a 112-run first-wicket stand before Amit Deshpande perished for a well-made 56. His partner, Pinnannany Vivek, stuck around for another 24 overs before departing for 78. His loss sparked off a mini-collapse, and only Samir Khare's late-order 68 helped Vidarbha reach a total of 350 in 127.5 overs. Mohammad Aslam picked up four wickets for Rajasthan.

The home side's openers, faced with a sizeable first-innings total, went about their job with panache. Vineet Saxena, the more sedate of the two, had, at the close of Day Two, sauntered along to 64 off 151 balls; his companion, former Indian one-day player Gagan Khoda, had scored 92 off 182 balls, with 10 fours and one six, when play ended.