Ranji Trophy round-up: Siddhesh Lad, Suryakumar Yadav's fifties save Mumbai's day; Sikkim's Milind Kumar hits double ton against Delhi

Suryakumar Yadav and Siddhesh Lad hit dogged half-centuries to propel Mumbai to 278 for five on the opening day of their group A Ranji Trophy encounter against Railways on Thursday. While Surya (83) missed out on a hundred, Siddhesh, who wore an anti-pollution mask to combat the toxic Delhi air, remained unbeaten on 80 with 11 boundaries to his credit. Apart from their partnership, a number of Mumbai players wearing anti-pollution mask attracted attention at the Karnail Singh Stadium. The Surya-Siddhesh combination added 129 runs for the fourth wicket before Anureet Singh struck with the old ball, removing the former. [caption id=“attachment_4206361” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Mumbai batsman Siddhesh Lad. AFP[/caption] Siddhesh, who has been in good form for the past couple of seasons, batted till stumps despite having some breathing problems. He played 165 balls, hitting 11 boundaries in the process. Surya’s innings had five boundaries and a six in 144 balls before Anureet forced him to edge one to skipper Mahesh Rawat behind the stumps. All-rounder Shivam Dubey (35, 42 balls) hit three boundaries and two sixes during a whirlwind 48-run stand for the unbroken sixth wicket with Siddhesh as play was called off after 80 overs due to bad light. The highlight of the day was the partnership between Surya and Siddhesh as they came together at 98 for 3. Both looked assured against spinners, India U-19 left-armer Harsh Tyagi (0/62 in 17 overs) and former Rajasthan off-spinner Madhur Khatri (0/32 in 8 overs). For Railways, their most successful bowler was veteran Anureet Singh (3/55 in 22 overs). Both Surya and Siddhesh used their feet to good effect against spinners. One on-drive from Siddhesh was a treat to watch. “He was having problems while breathing and felt a bit dizzy and that’s why he wore the anti-pollution mask. Now he is okay,” Siddhesh’s father Dinesh Lad, who is a Railways observer, told PTI. Surya on his part said that he didn’t need anti-pollution mask because he played Deodhar in Delhi only a few days ago and was better adjusted to the weather. In Kolkata, ignored by his former team Delhi, Milind Kumar made a strong statement in his Sikkim debut with an unbeaten 202 against Manipur in their Ranji Trophy Plate Group match here Thursday. Batting at number five, Milind accounted for more than 67 percent runs to take Sikkim to 299/9 from a precarious 15/5 at the Jadavpur University Saltlake Campus ground. Milind’s knock came off 248 balls and was laced with 29 boundaries and two sixes. He waged a solitary battle after his 107-run partnership with Bipul Sharma, who got run-out for 45 after a mix-up. The 27-year-old, who played the Vijay Hazare one-dayers for Delhi before being sidelined for Ranji Trophy, chose to deal in boundaries to guard the lower order. He was also seen mentoring his inexperienced partners on a regular basis. Milind shared a 62-run partnership with Lee Yong Lepcha (25) while he stood in a 83-run stand with Padam Limboo, who had a share of just nine runs. Earlier, another ‘Delhi boy’, Shelley Shaurya, who is born in Manipur but grew up in Delhi, left Sikkim in tatters, ripping apart the top order to end with figures of 4/39. The Manipur medium pacer used the early morning moisture to maximum effect but only to sustain a hamstring injury as he could not bowl after 11.4 overs. “My foot got stuck, injuring the hamstring. I hope to be fine tomorrow,” Shaurya said as he forged a fine attack with left-arm pacer Rex Singh (3/65). Sikkim, who lost all their matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, however did not mind as they made full use of the depleted attack to race to safety. In another match, debutants Uttarakhand made a strong start to their first Ranji season by bowling out Bihar for 60 inside one session in Dehradun, with pace bowler Deepak Dhapola taking 6/13 in 8.1 overs. By stumps, Uttarakhand led by 141 with fifties to Karanveer Kaushal (91) and Saurabh Rawat (64). At the Nagaland Cricket Stadium in Soviam, hosts Nagaland dominated Mizoram who lost their last five wickets for 14 runs to be bowled out for 106 in 47.2 overs. At stumps, four wickets down, Nagaland led by 83 runs. The plate group features nine new teams including eight debutants – Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Puducherry – and Bihar who are back after a gap of 18 years. Rajat Patidar scored a patient 110 not out to help Madhya Pradesh reach 214 for 3 against Tamil Nadu at stumps on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B Match here Thursday. The visiting team elected to bat after skipper Naman Ojha won the toss. It lost the wicket of opener Ankit Dane (4) in the second over. Dane was caught by TN captain Baba Aparajith off M Mohammed’s bowling. Opener Aryaman Vikram Birla (51, 166 balls, 6X4) and Patidar forged a 124-run partnership for the second wicket to keep Tamil Nadu bowlers at bay. Indian Test spinner R Ashwin pegged away but the two defied his skills to help Madhya Pradesh forge ahead. Ashwin had one wicket to show for his efforts even as he kept the runs down. He conceded 49 runs in his 21 overs. Skipper Ojha, who joined Patidar after Birla’s exit, displayed a lot of intent as he looked for runs. He hit two fours and two sixes in his 45 before falling to Vijay Shankar towards the end of the day’s play. Patidar and Shubham Sharma (O batting) saw the team through without any further losses. Brief scores: Mumbai 1st Innings 278/5 (Siddhesh Lad 80 batting, Surykumar Yadav 83, Anureet Singh 3/55 in 22 overs) vs Railways. Saurashtra 1st Innings 282/3 (Cheteshwar Pujara 30, Harvik Desai 78, Snell Patel 91) vs Chattisgarh Baroda 1st Innings 290 (Deepak Hooda 63, Siddharth Desai 5/109). Gujarat 15/0. Maharashtra 1st Innings 284/6 (Chirag Khurana 89) vs Vidarbha. Madhya Pradesh 214 for 3 in 89 overs (Rajat Patidar 110, Aryaman Vikram Birla 51) vs TN. Kerala 231 for 4 in 85 overs (Sachin Baby 57 batting, Jalaj Saxena 58, Sanju Samson 53) vs Hyderabad. Bengal 266 for 6 in 90 overs (Manoj Tiwary 55, Anustup Majumdar 53, Abhishek Kumar Raman 48, RR Dhawan 2 for 34) vs Himachal Pradesh. Punjab 261 for 6 in 90 overs (Sanvir Singh 63 batting, Mandeep Singh 68, Shubman Gill 56, B Ayyappa 3 for 64) vs Andhra Pradesh.