Mumbai post 457/3 on Day 1
Mumbai, Dec 20: Suryakumar Yadav made an 80-ball 90 in his first Ranji Trophy game in almost three years while skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Yashasvi Jaiswal struck fine hundreds to take Mumbai to 457 for three against Hyderabad on day one of the Group B contest here. Surya, who has arguably been the best batter in white-ball cricket over the past 12 months, approached the red-ball game with the same aggressive intent that he is known for in the shorter formats. His knock comprised 15 fours and a six. The stylish batter has time and again expressed his desire to play Test cricket for India. He last played a first-class game way back in February 2020. Jaiswal continued his rich vein of form with a sublime 162 off 195 balls while Rahane was batting on 139 at stumps. (PTI)
Anustup’s 159 lifts Bengal vs HP
Kolkata, Dec 20: Veteran Anustup Majumdar stroked his way to an unbeaten 159 and lifted Bengal to 310 for 9 after a poor start against Himachal in their Ranji Trophy Group A match here on Tuesday. Former champions Bengal were reeling at 44 for five after medium pacer Sidharth Sharma (5/69) struck thrice in the first 10 overs at Eden Gardens. Rishi Dhawan accounted for Sudip Kumar Gharami, bowling him out for 5, while pacer Kanwar Abhinay got the prized wicket of skipper Manoj Tiwary (3) cheaply as Bengal found themselves in all sorts of trouble in the very first session of the first morning. Then came the recovery acts, first through a 110-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Majumdar and Shahbaz Ahmed, and then the former’s 65-run stand for the eight wicket with Akash Deep. Shahbaz Ahmed’s contribution was a handy 49 while Akash Deep got himself 34 runs. Bengal’s saviour on the day was, without an iota of doubt, the 38-year-old Majumdar, who not only got a big hundred but also guided the two lower-order batters after losing half the side with very little on the board. (PTI)
K’taka on top vs Puducherry
Bengaluru, Dec 20: Eight-time champions Karnataka dished out an allround effort to bundle out Puducherry for 170 and then reach 111 for one on the opening day to gain a slight upperhand in their Ranji Trophy Group C match here on Tuesday. Electing to field, Karnataka bowlers were right on the money as right-arm pace trio of Vidwath Kaverappa (4/52), Vijaykumar Vyshak (3/39) and Ronit More (2/34) shared nine wickets to dismantle Puducherry’s batting line-up. Leg-spinner Shreay Gopal (1/5) accounted for the other wicket. Puducherry never had control of their innings after being sent in to bat as they lost wickets at regular intervals, failing to stitch substantial partnerships that would have helped them post a decent first innings total. Skipper Damodaran Rohit (44) top-scored for Puducherry, while Kothandapani Aravind (20) and Sridhar Ashwath (20) also got some runs before they were bowled out in 54 overs. In reply, opener Ravikumar Samarth remained unbeaten on 59, while skipper Mayank Agarwal made 51 as Karanataka ended the day on 111 for 1. (PTI)