Singh's ton props up shaky Punjab

Wed, Nov 4 05:41 AM

Chandigarh: Opener Ravi Inder Singh grafted his way to a century (104, 251 balls, 17x4, 1x 6), but the Punjab batting line-up was still no match for a top-class Mumbai attack led by Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar on Day One at the Sector 16 Stadium here.

The 21-year-old from Patiala put his head down to score his fourth first-class hundred, but Punjab still ended the day on 242 for nine. At one stage, they were struggling to reach 200.

New Punjab skipper Ankur Kakkar took a gamble when he decided to bat first in conditions that would have suited the Mumbai pace attack and while the bowlers were spot on initially, the decision seemed to have paid off when Punjab reached 80 for two at lunch. However, it was the fall of the third wicket — Taruwar Kohli — that opened the floodgates.

For Mumbai, Zaheer made the difference. He first accounted for Kohli and then took the prized wicket of Pankaj Dharmani, after which Punjab could never recover. Ravi tried to stem the slide along with debutant Gaurav Gambhir, but the Mumbai bowlers kept up the pressure. At stumps, Manpreet Gony and Love Abhilish were at the crease. — Shalini Gupta

Brief scores: Punjab 242 for 9 in 86 overs (Ravi Inder Singh 104, Manpreet Gony 30 not out, Uday Kaul 28, Ajit Agarkar 4/41, Zaheer Khan 3/45, Dhaval Kulkarni 2/68)

Bose takes five as Bengal skittle out Maharashtra

PUNE: Bengal strike bowler Ranadeb Bose has a world record to his name: of bowling 10708 balls in first-class and club games without over-stepping. When asked about it, he states that it is not something that he focuses on in practice. "I don't even know why I don't overstep," he says. What he does concentrate on in the nets is his line and length, which was spot on in Bengal's opening Elite division match against hosts Maharashtra on Tuesday. The result was the destruction of Maharashtra's top-order and figures of 5/67.

He felt line and length was the key, and added that the opposition choosing to bat first was a blessing. "The pitch was good for batting, but there was some movement with the new ball," he said.

Bose had an exceptional 2006/07 season with Bengal where he took a total of 57 wickets in eight Ranji matches, performances that earned him a place in the Indian Test squad that toured England.

The 2007/08 season was a bit of a downer for him as Bengal were relegated to the Plate Division, but Bose is delighted to be back. "The return of players such Rohan Gavaskar, Deep Dasgupta, Abhishek Jhunjhunwalla and Shib Sagar Singh has really strengthened the team and given us more depth," he said on Tuesday, adding that he didn't believe in setting targets as not achieving them can be demoralising. — Kabir Mandrekar

Brief scores: Maharashtra 179 all out in 61.2 overs (Azhar Ansari 52, Sangram Atitkar 44; Ranadeb Bose 5/67, Ashok Dinda 3/65); Bengal 52 for 2 in 28 overs (Arindam Das 38)

Rayudu fails on comeback as Hyderabad reach 237/6

Hyderabad: Abhinav Kumar struck a defiant, unbeaten 70 to guide Hyderabad to 237 for six on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match against Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday.

Electing to bat at the Gymkhana Ground, Hyderabad were reduced to 31 for three, with Ravi Teja (0), Ambati Rayudu (1) and Anoop Pai (15) dismissed cheaply.

Opener Tirumalasetti Suman (40) and Arjun Yadav (19) then shared 43 runs for the fourth wicket to revive the Hyderabad innings before Abhinav walked in. He shared two important partnerships — 47 with Yadav for the fifth wicket and 77 with Syed Quadri for the sixth wicket — to take the hosts to a respectable score.

For Himachal, Vikramjeet Malik was the most effective bowler with 2/58 from his 22 overs. Ashok Thakur, Mohinderraj Sharma and Abhinav Bali took a wicket each.

Brief scores: Hyderabad 1st innings: 237 for six from 90 overs (Abhinav Kumar 70 n.o., Tirumalasetti Suman 40; Vikramjeet Malik 2/58) vs Himachal Pradesh

Parthiv leads the way as Gujarat keep Orissa at bay

AHMEDABAD: Parthiv Patel led from the front with a composed 83 as Gujarat scored 237 for seven on the opening day of their Group A match against Orissa. Electing to bat, skipper Patel shared two important partnerships to take Gujarat to a reasonable total.

Patel, who struck 10 fours in his 128-ball innings, shared a 53-run partnership with Hem Joshipura (36) for the third wicket and an 89-run stand with Rujul Bhatt (46) for the fifth wicket. But after Patel departed, two quick wickets fell as Gujarat were reduced to 203 for seven, but a late cameo by Ashraf Makda (31) took the home team to 237 for seven. At stumps, Makda was batting on 31 off just 23 balls with the help of one four and four sixes. Timil Patel (11) was at the other end.

For Orissa, Dhiraj Singh was the most successful bowler with 4/88 from his 28 overs while Debasis Mohanty took two wickets, giving away 26 runs.

Brief scores: Gujarat 1st innings 237 for 7 in 91 overs (Parthiv Patel 83, Rujul Bhatt 46, Hem Josipura 36; Dhiraj Singh 4/88, Debasis Mohanty 2/26) vs Orissa

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