Middle-order batsman Rinku Singh struck a fluent century to guide Uttar Pradesh to 340 for seven in their first innings on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match against Saurashtra, here on Tuesday.
Rinku made 150 off just 181 balls with the help of 19 boundaries to take Uttar Pradesh out of trouble after the hosts were reduced to 54 for 4 at one stage on the first day of the four-day match
Rinku stitched two crucial partnerships — 145 runs for the fifth wicket with Priyam Garg (49) and 85 runs with Umesh Yadav for the sixth wicket — to keep Uttar Pradesh afloat.
Besides Rinku and Priyam, opener Madhav Kaushik (37), Saurabh Kumar (26 not out) and Shivam Mavi (28 not out) also made useful contributions with the bat.
Left-arm orthodox bowler Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (3/111) was the most successful bowler for Saurashtra, while skipper Jaydev Unadkat (2/65) also chipped in with two wickets.
Free from national duty, India’s middle-order mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara is turning out for Saurashtra in the last-eight encounter.
Karnataka grab 1st day honours
Bengaluru: Karnataka grabbed honours on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal, bowling out formidable Rajasthan for 224 in their first innings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here onTuesday.
At stumps, Karnataka were 12 without loss in five overs with openers Ravikumar Samarth and Dega Nischal batting on seven and five, respectively.
The day also saw a couple of bad decisions by the umpires. Robin Bist’s leg before dismissal came despite the ball climbing up and Rajesh Bishnoi was lucky to survive off K Gowtham.
Sent into bat, none of the batsmen made any significant contributions, except for skipper Mahipal Lomror (50) and Rajesh Bishnoi (79) hitting fifties batting lower down the order.
All the bowlers were among the wickets, barring Ronit More. Gowtham and Abhimanyu Mithun bagged three wickets each to emerge as highest wicket-takers.
kERALA REDUCE GUJARAT TO 97/4
wAYANAD: Kerala hit back to reduce Gujarat to 97 for 4 after being bowled out for 185 in 39.3 overs on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals here on Tuesday.
Gujarat won the toss and sent the host into bat and struck at regular intervals to take control. Opener Mohammed Azharudeen (17) was the first to go, bowled by Rush Kalaria.
After a 23-run partnership, Kerala lost the wickets of P Rahul (26), Sijomon Joseph and Sachin Baby at the score of 52.
Medium-pacers Roosh Kalari (2 for 63) and C T Gaja (4 for 57) did most of the damage. Sandeep Warrier and Basil Thampi scalped two each to lead the Kerala fightback.
Thampi struck a big blowwhen he dismissed Parthiv for 43 as Gujarat trails by 88 runs.
Sudha-pANWAR COME TO RESCUE
nAGPUR: Middle-order batsman Avneesh Sudha hit a patient 91 to guide Uttarakhand to a respectable 293 for six against reigning champions Vidarbha on day one of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final here on Tuesday.
Put in to bat at the Vidarbha Cricket Association’s Stadium in Jamtha, Uttarakhand lost their skipper and opener Vineet Saxena (5) early after he was cleaned up by medium pacer Rajneesh Gurbani.
The visitors were in a spot of bother as they lost two more wickets in quick succession. But then Sudha along with Vaibhav Singh Panwar (67 off 128 balls) resurrected the visitors’ innings and steadied their ship.
The duo conjured a crucial 140-run stand for the fourth wicket to bail the side out of trouble and frustrate the Vidarbha bowlers.
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