Vikramjeet Malik six dents Mumbai
A round-up of the first day's play of the third-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Super League 2009-10
Cricinfo staff
17-Nov-2009
Group A
Right-arm seamer Vikramjeet Malik had defending champions Mumbai in shambles as Himachal Pradesh (HP) took opening day honours at the Bandra Kurla Complex. A terrific opening spell from Malik sent Ajinkya Rahane and captain Wasim Jaffer packing early after the visitors put in Mumbai. He then proceeded to remove three more of Mumbai's top six batsmen and Iqbal Abdullah lower down the order, to finish with six wickets. Ajit Agarkar managed the highest score for Mumbai, with 45, as they were bowled out in the 52nd over. HP ended the day on 100 for 3, looking good for first-innings points with Bhavin Thakker managing an unbeaten 48 at the top of the order.
Rain played spoilsport in Hyderabad as the home team stuttered after choosing to bat against Gujarat. Right-arm fast bowler Siddharth Trivedi was the top performer for Gujarat as he had three Hyderabad batsmen caught behind. ICL returnee Ambati Rayudu top scored for Hyderabad and put on 74 with Anirudh Singh for the third wicket. Trivedi though, struck thrice in two overs, including the wickets of captain Arjun Yadav and wicketkeeper Abhinav Kumar for no score, to tilt the balance. Hyderabad's hopes now rest heavily on Syed Quadri who stayed unbeaten on a patient 51.
Pankaj Dharmani's patient 74 gave some respectability to Punjab's score as they struggled against Tamil Nadu in Amritsar. Off to a slow start after opting to bat, Punjab managed 38 when they were dealt the first blow by R Sathish, who castled Vikas Bhalla in the 14th over. Wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals before Chandan Madan and Dharmani steadied the innings. The two put on 58 for the fourth wicket, and Dharmani combined briefly with Ankur Kakkar and Gaurav Gambhir later on to beef up the total. Yo Mahesh was Tamil Nadu's best bowler with two wickets, while Sathish, L Balaji, Aushik Srinivas and R Ashwin grabbed one apiece.
Railways 176 for 4 (Cheluvaraj 72*) v Orissa
Scorecard
Scorecard
V Cheluvaraj's painstaking half-century helped Railways labour to 176 for 4 against Orissa on the opening day in Bhubaneswar. The slow approach frustrated the home side bowlers as they had a long and tiring day on the field after opting to bowl. Cheluvaraj and fellow-opener Faiz Fazal batted slowly, scoring 53 at a run-rate of nearly two per over, before Fazal was run out. Orissa managed three wickets but Chelvuraj, who faced 248 deliveries during his innings, and Sanjib Sanyal (20) saw them through safely to stumps.
Group B
Saurashtra 236 for 2 (Pathak 90, Kotak 85*, Pujara 52) v Maharashtra
Scorecard
Scorecard
Saurashtra looked to improve on their lone point so far this season with an emphatic albeit slow batting display against bottom-placed Maharashtra in Rajkot. Chirag Pathak starred at the top of the order with 90 and was well-supported by Shitanshu Kotak during their second-wicket partnership of 127. Kotak remained unbeaten on 85, hitting eight fours en route and with Cheteshwar Pujara (52) for company, the hosts finished the day with 250 in sight.
Rohan Banerjee's watchful 107 looked to have given Bengal the advantage against Karnataka in Mysore, but the home team hit back with five wickets by the end of play. Once Sreesanth Aravind had undone the solid start, Banerjee, along with Manoj Tiwary (78) put on 172 for the third wicket as the momentum swung Bengal's way. Banerjee hit 13 fours during his 250-ball stay but was trapped leg before by Amit Verma. Bengal also lost Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, before Wriddhiman Saha and Shibsagar Singh held fort till stumps.
Overnight rain seeped in through the covers at the Mohan Meakins Cricket Stadium in Ghaziabad, preventing play between Uttar Pradesh and Baroda.