Mumbai, Nov 3: Rohit Sharma strengthened his case for a place in the Indian national side as he helped Mumbai post a mammoth score of 338 on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy’s 2011-’12 season. Scoring 133, Sharma remained unbeaten when play was called off on Day 1 of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy Elite – Group A encounter against Railways.
Winning the toss and opting to bat first, the Mumbai openers failed to convert their starts into bigger scores. Kaustabh Pawar fell for 31 while Mumbai captain, Wasim Jaffer, scored 33 before he was dismissed by Jai Prakash Yadav. After Prashant Naik (10) fell to Sanjay Bangar, Rohit Sharma helped orchestrate Mumbai’s recovery. Sharma was involved in a 180-run stand with 21-year-old Surayakumar Yadav (88) for the fourth wicket that helped Mumbai to a position of strength at 277 for four.
Iqbal Abdulla (25) was the fifth Mumbai batsman to fall in the day but with Sharma remaining unbeaten, Mumbai are sure to set Railways a huge first innings target on Day 2.
Defending champions Rajasthan, meanwhile, found themselves in a spot of bother as their opponents, Karnataka, posted an impressive 273 for three on Day 1 of their Elite – Group A encounter. After Karnataka opener and India national Robin Uthappa fell for a duck, KB Pawan struck a battling century (121*) to guide his side out of trouble. Manish Pandey (58 off 67) and Amit Verma (59*) hit half-centuries to complement Pawan’s heroics.
The other big century on the day came from Punjab’s Mandeep Singh, who, batting at No. 4, hit a well-paced 158* to give Punjab the advantage on Day 1 of their Ranji Trophy Elite - Group A match against Uttar Pradesh.
UP pacer RP Singh impressed with figures of four for 60 but couldn’t get rid of Mandeep. Punjab eventually ended the day at 329 for five in 91 overs.
Read brief scores here:
