Ranji Highlights: Varun Aaron stars as Jharkhand-Rajasthan play out 15-wicket opening day

Thrill-a-minute contests

When Varun Aaron picked up 5 for 22 to keep Rajasthan to just 100, he would have expected to put his feet up and relax. But things don't always go as planned. Tanveer Ul-Haq picked four as Jharkhand slipped to 92 for 5 and it was Ishan Kishan's attacking 44 not out that kept them fighting. A total of 15 wickets fell on the opening day at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi.

In Guwahati, things were too different. Assam folded for 121 after a maiden five-wicket haul from Rajesh Mohanty but Mukhtar Hussain pulled things back with three wickets as Odisha slipped to 86 for 3 on a 13-wicket day.

Top knocks

In the absence of some big stars, Siddharth KV made an unbeaten 104 to help Karnataka fight against Mumbai. With Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, KL Rahul and R Samarth missing, the onus was on Dega Nischal and Shishir Bhavane to make runs. Siddharth, who has played just one first-class game, produced the goods even as Shivam Dube kept chipping away. His four-wicket haul somewhat nullified the ton as Karnataka ended the day on 263 for 4.

Tanmay Agarwal shrugged off a poor start with a century against Delhi as Hyderabad made 232 for 3. Himalay Agarwal stroked an unbeaten ton as they took the team towards 200 after being reduced to 52 for 2.

Best spells

In Tamil Nadu's first good bowling performance of the season, M Mohammed's four-wicket haul dismantled Andhra and left them reeling at 199 for 8. Jyothi Sai Krishna and Girinath Reddy scored half-centuries but Mohammed picked up four of the first five wickets to fall to put his team on top.

Basil Thampi left Bengal gasping as they were shot down for just 147 with the pacer picking up 4 for 57. MD Nidheesh picked three while Sandeep Warrier bagged two as Bengal struggled to thrust any sort of momentum into their innings.

Krishna Das bagged his 10th five-wicket haul to keep Haryana to 263 for 9 after Goa opted to bowl. Himanshu Rana scored 86 while Nitin Saini managed 64 but both were dismissed by Das before Haryana could get on top.

Parvez Rasool was also among the wickets with his 13th first-class fifer as Jammu & Kashmir drove to a dominant position after shooting down Tripura for 124. In reply, they were 99 for 1 at stumps.

India player watch

Once Bengal were shot down for just 147, all eyes were on Mohammed Shami. The pacer had been allowed to play by the BCCI on the condition that he will bowl just 15 overs per innings. He bowled five - picking up 1 for 19 - as Kerala saw off his spell to end on 35 for 1.

Partnership of substance

Wasim Jaffer and Faiz Fazal made merry against Baroda with centuries on the opening day. After opting to bat, they lost Sanjay Ramaswamy with just 13 on the board. However, Baroda had no other success in the day as unbeaten tons from the veteran duo allowed the pair to score 255 for the second wicket to take the team to 268 for 1.

Plate performances

Raj Biswa (111) and Yogesh Nagar (166) scored centuries to lift Meghalaya to 338 for 5 against Nagaland. They scored 231 for the fourth wicket after the team slipped to 66 for 3.

Taruwar Kohli stroked a ton but Mizoram folded for 219 on the opening day. Manipur, in reply, were 54 for 3 with Lalnunkima Varte bagging two.

When Uttarakhand slipped to 37 for 3, they needed something special to put the pressure back on Sikkim. Saurabh Rawat (115 not out) and Rajat Bhatia (112) made 208 for the fourth wicket to help the team recover and end the day on 290 for 5.