It was a day of comebacks in the Ranji Trophy, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya returning for Baroda and a number of India A players turning up for their respective teams. Here are the major takeaways from the 1st day of the sixth round of games.
Shreyas Iyer Slams Ton; Hardik Picks Two on Comeback
Hardik Pandya took the new ball for Baroda against Mumbai but it was Shreyas Iyer who roared back to form in stunning style, slamming 178, while skipper Siddesh Lad scored 138 to help Mumbai reach 439/7 at stumps. Pandya took three wickets, removing both the openers and ended with figures of 3/74.
Milind Piles on the Runs; 22 Wickets Fall in a Day in Plate Division
Milind Kumar continued to pile on the runs for Sikkim, scoring his fourth ton and completed 1000 runs in the tournament so far in just 9 innings, becoming the second quickest to reach the landmark after Rusi Modi (1944/45 in 7 innings). Sikkim ended the day at 321/9.
Pondicherry were dismissed for 136 but they still managed a first innings lead as Arunachal Pradesh were bundled out for 82 in reply. Pondicherry ended the day at 28/2, with a lead of 82 runs.
In other plate games, Bihar were 80/2 after dismissing Meghalya for 125. Ashutosh Aman ended with figures of 8/51. Tripura managed to reach 247/7 at stumps against Goa.
Deepak Dhapola picked 5/49 as Uttarakhand bowled out Nagaland for 207 and managed to reach 73/2 at Stumps.
Tamil Nadu Struggle; Jalaj Saxena Helps Kerala Show Fight
Vijay Shankar slammed 71 on his return but lacked any sort of support from the other end as Punjab restricted Tamil Nadu to 219/9 at stumps. Baba Aparajith scored 40 and Dinesh Karthik made 26. Manpreet Gony picked 5/55 for Punjab.
Delhi had Kerala on the ropes but late fightback from the home team, led by Jalaj Saxena’s 68 and Vineep Manoharan’s unbeaten 77 helped them reach a respectable 291/7 at stumps. Shivam Sharma picked 4/78 for Delhi.
Brief Scores:
Meghalaya 125 vs Bihar 80/2
Sikkim 321/9 vs Mizoram
Tripura 247/7 vs Goa
Puducherry 136 & 28/2 vs Arunachal Pradesh 82
Rajasthan 135 vs Odisha 78/4
Nagaland 207 vs Uttarakhand 66/0
Gujarat 216 vs Karnataka 44/1
Saurashtra 269/3 vs Maharashtra
Mumbai 439/7 vs Baroda
Vidarbha 243/6 vs Railways
Andhra Pradesh 173 vs Himachal Pradesh 50/1
Bengal 99/2 vs Hyderabad
Kerala 291/7 vs Delhi
Tamil Nadu 213/9 vs Punjab
Jammu & Kashmir 161 vs Haryana 129/4
Assam 189/7 vs Services
Jharkhand 278/6 vs Uttar Pradesh