Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Wasim Jaffer's masterful 83, Vidarbha bowlers push Delhi on back-foot on opening day; Manoj Tiwary's ton puts Bengal in command

Veteran Wasim Jaffer’s masterclass was a purists’ delight as Delhi’s strategy of preparing a result-oriented seaming track boomeranged with defending champions Vidarbha taking control on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy encounter.

On a track where players half his age were not able to cross 20-run mark, the former India opener, who is a month shy from being 42, scored 83 in his team’s meagre total of 179.

With ball jagging around all day in cold and windy conditions, former India U-19 seamer Aditya Thakare (4/14) polished the Delhi top-order in a five-over burst to reduce the hosts to 41 for 4 at stumps.

The match is expected to get over inside three days and Delhi will have to depend on the pair of Nitish Rana (3 batting) and Lalit Yadav (0 batting) to at least ensure a respectable first innings total.

Thakare got the bowl to swing both ways as the likes of captain Dhruv Shorey was deceived by away movement and Jonty Sidhu squared up by late swing.

The day belonged to Jaffer, who showed the technique to bat on a track where the trio of Ishant Sharma (3/45 in 14 overs), Simarjeet Singh (4/39 in 16.5 overs) and Kulwant Khejroliya (2/50 in 18 overs) made life miserable for other players.

Playing late and close to his body, Jaffer, coming in at No 3, followed the basics to the ‘T’ as his backfoot punch through the covers off Simrajeet and the off-drive off Ishant were visual treat.

There were 11 boundaries in all and he never really looked in trouble until Ishant bowled a beauty to clean him up. The next best score was 16 by Aditya Wakhare.

“The pitch was difficult to bat on. And when someone like Ishant, who is one of India’s top fast bowlers, is bowling, you need to be careful,” said Jaffer, who recently worked as a batting coach with Bangladesh’s High Performance Academy and will also mentor KXIP batsmen in the coming IPL.

“On this track, it will be very difficult to bat in the fourth innings. I feel the ball will keep low and so it’s good that we are not batting last on this track,” said Jaffer.

He is already a coach and is still playing an active role in the Vidarbha set-up.

“We have a chance of Ranji Trophy hat-trick so some of us have stayed for the third season. As far as coaching is concerned, I love it and would like to pursue it once I am done with cricket. Already I am a mentor for the Vidarbha youngsters. I am the bridge between coach and players,” said the man, who has two Test double hundreds against West Indies and Pakistan.

Brief Scores

In Delhi: Vidarbha 179 in 61.5 overs (Wasim Jaffer 83, Simarjeet Singh 4/39, Ishant Sharma 3/45). Delhi 41/4 (Aditya Thakare 4/14).

At Valsad: Gujarat 277/9 (Bharghav Merai 130, Siddarth Kaul 4/57, Baltej Singh 4/62).

At Thumba: Kerala 90 (Shubham Sharma 5/41). Rajasthan 173/4 (Jalaj Saxena 4/34).

Aksh, Rinku give UP upper-hand against Mumbai

Uttar Pradesh batsman Aksh Deep Nath stuck an unbeaten hundred, which not only pulled his side out of trouble but also gave them an upper hand, on the opening day of their Elite Ranji Trophy Group B match against Mumbai here on Sunday.

Following an unbroken 137-run fifth-wicket stand between Nath (115 not out off 215 balls) and Rinku Singh (71 not out off 134 balls; 7x4), UP ended the day at a decent 281/4 after being 48/3 at one stage at the Wankhede Stadium.

Mumbai pacers Akash Parkar (2-67) and Royston Dias (2 -48) initially dominated proceeding but later Nath stuck a patient hundred to ensure Mumbai could not capitalise on the early advantage.

Medium-pacer Parkar gave a double-blow to Uttar Pradesh after dismissing openers Almas Shaukat (22) and young Aryan Juyal (17) to leave the visitors in a spot of bother at 48-2.

While Shaukat gave a catch to Shams Mulani at gully, Juyal was trapped in front of the wicket by Parkar as the two openers failed to convert a good start.

Left-arm pacer Royston Dias then clean bowled one-down batsmen Umang Sharma (2) as UP was reduced to 48-3. Sharma played onto the stumps.

UP skipper Ankit Rajpoot had opted to bat and his decision seemed to have back-fired before Nath first and Mohammed Saif (42 off 60 balls) started the rescue act with their 96-run stand for the third wicket.

The visitors took lunch at 101/3.

However, when it looked like the duo was taking the game away from Mumbai, Dias broke the stand.

Saif was caught in the deep off Dias with UP yet to go past the 150-run mark.

Meanwhile, Nath who had hit a flurry of fifties en route to his half-century, firmly held one end.

He found an able ally in Rinku Singh as the two stitched an unbroken 137-run stand and rallied the innings.

Nath’s knock was laced with 16 fours and two sixes, while Rinku hit seven boundaries. UP were 189/4 at tea in 54 overs.

Nath, who continued playing his shots, stepped out and drove offie Shashank Attarde for his 14th four to reach 99 and then played a late cut for another boundary to reach the three figure mark. This was his sixth first-class hundred.

Rinku Singh played perfect second fiddle to Nath.

At the fag end of the day, Mumbai took the new ball but Nath and Rinku ensured there was no further damage.

Both Mumbai and UP players sported black armbands in memory of former India all-rounder Bapu Nadkarni, who died on Friday.

Brief Scores:

Uttar Pradesh 281/4 (Aksh Deep Nath 115 not out,Rinku Singh 71 not out; Royston Dias 2-48, Akash Parkar 2-67) vs Mumbai.

At Chennai: Railways 76 all out in 39.1 overs (Saurabh Singh 22; R Ashwin 4/26, M Siddharth 4/32) vs Tamil Nadu 236 for 4 in 53 overs (Abhinav Mukund 100, Dinesh Karthik 57 batting, L Suryapprakash (50) TN lead by 160 runs.

At Indore: Saurashtra 295/8 (Sheldon Jackson 143 not out; Cheteshwar Pujara 47; Gourav Yadav 4-84).

At Dharamshala: Himachal Pradesh 314/5 (A P Vashisht 86; P S Chopra 56; Swapnil Singh 2-42) vs Baroda.

TN bundles out Railways for 76, take upperhand

A superb performance by bowlers R Ashwin and M Siddharth and a ton by Abhinav Mukund gave Tamil Nadu the upperhand on the opening day of its Ranji Trophy Group B match against Railways here on Sunday.

Electing to bat, the visiting team folded for 76 in 39.1 overs as the experienced Ashwin (4/26) and left-arm spinner Siddharth (4/32) ran through the railways batting order.

At stumps, the hosts were sitting pretty putting up 236 for 4.

From 15 for no loss in the 8th over, the Railways batsmen came a cropper against Ashwin and Siddharth to be bundled out in the opening session of the game.

It was a dismal display by the Railways batsmen as only three managed to reach double figures with Saurabh Singh (22) being the top-scorer.

Opener Mrunal Devdhar (5) was the first to go, caught by Ashwin off Siddharth with the total at 15 and then the slide started.

Vikranth Singh was the next to fall, caught by ‘keeper Dinesh Karthik off T Natarajan one run later.

Ashwin and Siddharth took seven of the next eight wickets to fall, spinning a web around the Railways batsmen.

In reply, Abhinav Mukund (100) and fellow opener L Suryapprakash (50) provided Tamil Nadu a flying start as the left-right combination pounded the Railways attack.

Mukund was in his elements and cracked boundaries on both sides of the wicket and reached the century in his 100th Ranji Trophy game.

He hammered 12 fours and 3 sixes to put Tamil Nadu in control.

However, Suryapprakash and Mukund were dismissed in the space of four balls with the score at 156.

The experienced Dinesh Karthik settled in nicely and was batting on a 55-ball 57 (5 fours, 2 sixes) to extend the team’s advantage with the lead having swelled to 160 runs at stumps.

Brief scores:

Railways 76 all oput in 39.1 overs (Saurabh Singh 22; R Ashwin 4/26, M Siddharth 4/32) vs Tamil Nadu 236 for 4 in 53 overs (Abhinav Mukund 100, Dinesh Karthik 57 batting, L Suryapprakash 50).

Tiwary slams unbeaten 156 to put Bengal in command

Former skipper Manoj Tiwary hit an unbeaten 156 and Shreevats Goswami a combative 95 as Bengal recovered from a shaky start to end the day one of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match against Hyderabad at a commanding 366 for five, here on Sunday.

Desperate for an outright win to keep their qualifying hopes alive, Bengal, who chose Kalyani over Eden Gardens, found the going tough early on to be reduced to 60 for three inside 15 overs.

Opener A Raman fell for a duck in the fifth ball of the day, edging Ravi Kiran (2/47) behind the stumps after Bengal elected to bat.

Skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (12) continued his poor run while debutant Kazi Saifi, who was drafted in after his stupendous show at the U-23 level, could not convert his start to be dismissed for 27.

But it was Tiwary who showed a class act as he paced his innings beautifully to lead Bengal’s recovery.

Number five Anustup Majumdar (59) also gave a fine support with 86-ball 59 (8x4) as the duo put on 112 runs for the fourth wicket.

“I will rate as one of my favourite innings, maybe in top-seven as I have five times double hundred before this. This knock was however very special. It came in a crucial stage,” Tiwary said after the day’s proceedings.

“I was playing well, but a big knock was due. I had back spasm against Kerala. I knew I was doing well in batting and this was due. Given the situation, this is one of my best innings.”

Tiwary counter-attacked the Hyderabad seamers as he scored freely, hitting 15 fours and three sixes in his 212-ball unbeaten knock.

“I had to counter attack knowing that they were playing with only two pacers. I wanted to attack pretty early. They were on the backfoot from start.”

“There was little movement early on. We knew that. But I’m happy to contribute to team’s cause. Anustup and Shreevats played really well and had good partnerships.”

After Majumdar departed, Tiwary found a fine ally in wicketkeeper batsman Shreevats who played brilliantly but missed out on a hundred by just five runs with P Sairam taking a superb low catch. “We would have been happy to see him score a hundred. 100 would have been more satisfying but it was an extraordinary catch. Nevertheless he played an important knock.”

Tiwary said he would look to complete a sixth double hundred on day two as Bengal are eyeing a 500-plus total.

“We didn’t expect to score so many runs on the first day. We have to score 500-plus if we want to bat once. We want to bat long tomorrow.”

Brief Scores

Bengal 366/5 in 90 overs (Manoj Tiwary 156 batting, Shreevats Goswami 95, Anustup Majumdar 59) vs Hyderabad.

Aquib Nabi takes five wickets to help J&K dismiss Odisha for 161

Right-arm pacer Aquib Nabi grabbed five wickets to help Jammu and Kashmir dismiss Odisha for 161 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group C match here on Sunday.

Nabi was the star of J&K as he ran through the Odisha batting line-up after his skipper Parvez Rasool decided to bowl first.

Odisha suffered a slump after the opening partnership of 51 runs between Anurag Sarangi (33) and Shantanu Mishra (21) was ended by Nabi. The team slipped to 75 for 4 and then 103 for 5 before a fighting knock of 42 by skipper Subhranshu Senapati took them past the 150-run mark.

In response, Odisha bowlers Rajesh Mohanty (1/14), B Mohanty (1/17) and SB Pradhan (1/6) picked up wickets to leave J&K at 38 for 3 in 24 overs to leave the game evenly poised.

Skipper Rasool was batting on 10 and a lot will depend on him when play resumes on Monday.

Brief Scores:

Odisha 161 all out in 64.3 overs (Shubhranshu Senapati 42; Aquib Nabi 5/39) vs J&K 38 for 3 in 24 overs.

At Ranchi: Uttarakhand 213 for 6 in 50 overs (Saurabh Rawat 66, Tanmay Srivastava 48 batting; Ashish Kumar 3/50, Ajay Yadav 3/53).

At Guwahati: Maharashtra 175 all out in 43.4 overs (Ankit Bawane 75, SS Bachhav 40; Arup Das 4/66, Ranjeet Mali 4/55) vs Assam 75 for 1 in 29 overs (Rishav Das 33 batting).

At Raipur: Tripura 53 for 9 in 18.1 overs (Pankaj Rao 5/11, Veer Pratap Singh 3/53) vs Chhattisgarh 137 for 5 in 50 overs (Shashank Singh 70 batting; AA Sarkar 3/35).

Goa recover from shaky start to post 251 vs Chandigarh

Goa dished out a superb rearguard action with Suyash Prabhudessai and Darshan Misal hitting valiant half-centuries to rescue the side from a terrible start against Chandigarh in Ranji Trophy Plate Group, here on Sunday.

Put in, the home side had their backs on the wall with 26 for 6 inside the first hour’s play as their top six batsmen departed for single digit scores with Jagjit Singh (5/64) and Shresth Nirmohi (3/38) wreaking havoc.

But it was the Suyash Prabhudessai (90) and Darshan Misal (54) saved them the blushes in a brilliant 133-run seventh wicket partnership as Goa rebuilt their innings to eventually put on board 251.

Their number 11 Vijesh Prabhudessai also contributed handsomely remaining unbeaten on a quickire 37-ball 40 (3x4, 2x6) before being bundled out in 80.3 overs.

In reply, Chandigarh were three for no loss at close on the first day.

Leading the Plate group, Goa have 29 points from five matches as third-placed Chandigarh (23 from five matches) are looking to go level with an outright win.

Only the Plate group toppers qualify for the last-eight.

Brief Scores:

At Povorim: Goa 251; 80.3 overs (Suyash Prabhudessai 90, Darshan Misal 54, Vijesh Prabhudessai 40 not out; Jagjit Singh 5/64, Shresth Nirmohi 3/38). Chandigarh three for no loss; two overs.

At Puducherry: Puducherry 209; 46.4 overs (Sagar Trivedi 79 not out; Nabam Tempol 5/61, Akhilesh Sahani 4/77). Arunachal Pradesh 109/3; 33 overs (Samarth Seth 64 batting).

At Sovima: Nagaland 166; 63.5 overs (Imliwati Lemtur 41; Abhijeet Saket 3/19, Ashutosh Aman 3/65). Bihar 115/2; 26 overs (Shasheem Rathour 46 batting).

At Mangaldoi: Meghalaya 235; 67.1 overs (Dwaraka Ravi Teja 90, Puneet Bisth 66, Sanjay Yadav 44; Homendro Kabrambam 3/29, Rex Rajkumar 3/33). Manipur 18/7; 15 overs (Sanjay Yadav 4/12, Abhay Negi 3/1).

At Bhubaneswar: Mizoram 201; 59.1 overs (Taruwar Kohli 113; Iqbal Abdulla 5/78, Ishwar Chaudhary 3/65). Sikkim 107/4; 28 overs (G Lalbiakvela 3/35).