Captains Jaydev Shah (120*) and Varun Aaron (four-for) starred for their respective teams, Saurashtra and Jharkhand on the first day of the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 as matches kicked off on neutral venues for the season.
Group B, Round 1- Day 1, Round up:
Saurashtra vs Team Rajasthan in Vizianagaram: Sau 1st inn 269/5 in 55.3 overs (J Shah 120*, S Jackson 76, A Choudhary 2/25)
Captain Jaydev Shah starred on the first day after coming to the crease at 30 for three. He joined forces with the inform Sheldon Jackson to revive the innings. The pair had put together 119 for the fourth wicket until AV Choudhary returned to end the stand with the wicket of the No 4 batsman. The skipper continued to rally on and was unbeaten on 120 as he took the team to stumps with Chirag Jani (13*).
Earlier, after asking Saurashtra to bat, Nathu Singh and skipper Pankaj Singh didn’t allow Mohsin Dodia and Arpit Vasavada to settle thus leaving Saurashtra on 10 for two early in the fifth over. Choudhary then followed up with the wicket of Sagar Jogiyani to leave the opposition wavering on 30 for three. However, Team Rajasthan conceded the advantage as the Saurashtra middle-order steadily rebuilt the innings.
Odisha vs Vidarbha in Vizag: Odisha 1st inn 134/6 in 70 (B Samantaray 53*, S Wagh 2/13, A Sarvate 2/37)
Shrikant Wagh and Co ran through the Odisha lineup on the first day to leave the opposition reeling on 49 for four. While bowler claimed two of the top three, A Saravate accounted for two while Akshay Wakhare picked one. While wickets feel around him, experienced campaigner Biplab Samantary held Vidrabha's innings together in an unbeaten effort. He was batting on 53 off 132 with Deepak Behera at the end of day's play.
Delhi vs Assam in Baroda: Assam 132/6 in 62 overs (R Hazarika 37, V Sood 2/29, N Saini 2/31, M Sharma 2/34)
After stand-in Captain Unmukt Chand elected to field in a match delayed due to rain, the Navdeep Saini-led attack kept Assam on a leash on the first day. While Saini claimed two, Manan Sharma and Varun Sood too complemented with two wickets each to tip the balance in Delhi's favour
Jharkhand vs Maharashtra at the Karnail Singh Stadium (New Delhi): Maha 1st inn 210/10 in 71.1 overs (A Bawane 78, K Jadhav 59, V Aaron 4/47, A Kumar 3/32)
The Maharashtra top-order were back in the hut at 31 for three as Ajay Yadav claimed two after skipper Varun Aaron (four for 47) had claimed Harshad Khadiwale. While Kedar Jadhav and Ankit Bawane helped the team to a respectable first innings score, the rest of the lineup caved in to the Jharkhand attack. The last three batsmen were sent back for zero by Aaron's men.
Anupam Sanklecha then claimed both Jharkhand openers pushing the side on the back foot at 11 for two. At the end of day's play, Virat Singh was batting with Saurabh Tiwary.
