The first day of Ranji Trophy 2017-18 witnessed a double-century by Himachal’s Prashant Chopra. The opener posted his highest first-class score and was unbeaten on 271 at the end of the day against Punjab. Jalaj Saxena claimed six for 50 to put Kerala in an advantageous position against Jharkhand. Chopra's 271 is the highest score by a batsman on the first day of a first-class game in India.
Here are the highlights of the day:
Group A
Delhi vs Assam in New Delhi: The Ishant Sharma-led Delhi left Assam reeling at 224 for seven at Stumps on Day 1 after opting to bowl in their backyard. Ishant Sharma claimed three wickets as the hosts kept the visitors in check in their opening game of the tournament.
Assam’s skipper Gokul Sharma scored a half-century while Sarupam Purkayastha was batting on 57 when play was called off for the day.
Scorecard
Uttar Pradesh vs Railways in Lucknow: Ankit Rajpoot and Zeeshan Ansari claimed three wickets each while captain Suresh Raina took two to bundle Railways out for 182 on the first day. The UP skipper set the ball rolling with the wicket of Shivkant Shukla with 20 runs on the board after the visitors elected to bat.
While Rajpoot finished with 3/30 and Ansari 3/78, Raina picked 2/15. Although Praveen Kumar was wicketless he conceded only 29 runs in his 10 overs while Kartik Tyagi took 1/25.
In reply, UP were 9/0 at Stumps.
Scorecard
Hyderabad vs Maharashtra in Hyderabad: No play on the first day due rain.
Group B
Haryana vs Saurashtra in Lahli: Mohit Sharma-led Haryana had kept Saurashtra to 271 for seven at the end of day’s play after Cheteshwar Pujara elected to bat. Ashish Hood claimed four for 59 including the wicket of the Saurashtra skipper in Lahli.
While Prerak Mankad was the top-scorer for the visitors on the first day with 68 runs, Sheldon Jackson scored 51. When play ended for the day, with Hooda castling Chirag Gandhi for 45, Jaydev Unadkat was unbeaten on seven runs.
Scorecard
Team Rajasthan vs J & K in Jaipur: Opening the innings for Team Rajasthan, Dishant Yagnik was sent back for one by Mohammed Mudhasir (3/36) leaving the hosts on 19 for one. However, Robin Bist, who then came the crease shaped the innings with an unbeaten century. AV Gautam and Ashok Menaria scored half-centuries as they partnered Bist in building the hosts innings. The No 3 was batting on 105 with TM Ul Haq as he took Team Rajasthan to 249 for four until Stumps.
Scorecard
Kerala vs Jharkhand in Trivandrum: Jalaj Saxena claimed six for 50 as he ran through the Jharkhand line-up on the first day. After Warrier gave the side their first breakthrough in the third over, Saxena struck at regular intervals to keep the opposition in check. While the Kerala bowlers dominated the proceedings, Ishan Kishan made a fighting 100-ball 45 and was the top scorer for his team on Day 1.
At stumps, Sunny Gupta (23*) and Samar Quadri (1*) had taken Jharkhand to 200 for nine.
Scorecard
Group C
Odisha vs Tripura in Bhubhaneswar: No play on Day 1 due to wet outfield.
Madhya Pradesh vs Baroda in Indore: After captain Irfan Pathan elected to bat, L Meriwala and Atit Sheth struck early in the day to leave MP on 26 for two. The visitors continued to strike at regular intervals. While Harpreet Singh Bhatia was removed by Irfan, B A Pathan followed up with the wicket of Naman Ojha to leave the hosts on 69 for four. The MP captain and veteran batsman, Devendra Bundela, who then worked to revive the innings was sent back for 99 by Atit Sheth later in the day signaling stumps. When play ended for the day, Shubham was not out on 88 with MP on 268 for five.
Scorecard -
Tamil Nadu vs Andhra in Chennai: Bhargav Bhatt (4/52), was instrumental in bowling TN out for 176 after the hosts opted to bat. A Bandaru claimed Murali Vijay for four while Prithvi Raj Yarra (3/39) followed up with the wicket of Abhinav Mukund to leave TN on 15 for two. 26 runs later, Bhatt accounted for Baba Indrajith and continued to wreck the lineup. SM Khan claimed Kaushik Gandhi to then leave TN on 73 for four while R Ashwin was bowled by Bandaru 15 runs later. Bhatt and Co then wrapped up the TN innings in 85 overs.
In reply, Andhra were 8/0 at the end of day’s play.
Scorecard
Group D
Services vs Bengal in New Delhi: Asked to bat, AK Raman and AR Easwaran got Bengal off to a good start with 97-run opening stand until Sachidanand Pandey bowled the former. Sudip Chatterjee who then took guard anchored the side to a respectable 341 for three with an unbeaten ton. The No 3 bat was on 114 with Wriddhiman Saha on 32 when play ended for the day at the Palam ground.
Scorecard
Goa vs Chhattisgarh in Porvorim: Mohammed Kaif (45*) and Manoj Singh (32*) helped Chhattisgarh to 189 for five in an unbroken 66 run partnership until Stumps on the first day.
Earlier Abhimanyu Chauhan and Rishabh Tiwari stitched 72-run stand for the second wicket, after losing S Gupta without a run on the board. Darashan Misal, who ended the stand finished with three wickets as the Goa bowlers kept the visitors in check.
Scorecard
Himachal vs Punjab in Dharamsala: Prashant Chopra anchored HP to a massive 459 for two with Paras Dogra on Day 1. The opener surpassed his previous best of 237 as he helped the home team pile on runs on the first day. After losing opening partner P Khanduri with eight runs on the board he was involved in a 187-run stand with S Verma. After the departure of the No 3 batsman, the opener found an able ally in Paras Dogra to keep the balance tipped in HP’s favour.
The fourth wicket stand was unbroken on 264 with Dogra on 99 and Chopra on 271 when play ended for the day.
Scorecard
