Ranji Trophy
By Our Reporter
Shillong, Jan 5: Meghalaya dominated play on the first day of their Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season by taking a 109-run first innings lead over Arunachal Pradesh in Anand, Gujarat.
Arunachal, the hosts, won the toss and chose to bat first but were dismissed in under 30 overs for just 94. Meghalaya were then 203/2 in 58 overs by stumps.
The Meghalaya Cricket Association has chosen to go with a team completely composed of domiciled players, forgoing the use of guest professionals in a historic decision for the state side.
Md Nafees (1/16) struck in the very first over of the match for what proved to be his only wicket of the day and that set the tone for a top-class Meghalaya bowling performance.
Only three Arunachal batters got into double figures, as Dippu Ch Sangma (4/18) and Sanvert Kurkalang (3/19) made inroads into the line-up. Swarajeet Das (2/10) was the other wicket-taker for Meghalaya. These were the best Ranji figures for all three bowlers.
It was also a special day for Arien Bonchang Sangma, who made his Ranji debut, as he took seven catches behind the stumps as wicketkeeper.
Arien (32) and Swarajeet (29) then opened the batting for Meghalaya, putting on 54 for the first wicket. The mantle was then taken up by Ram Gurung and captain Kishan Lyngdoh, who together put on 133 in an unbroken third wicket stand.
At stumps, Kishan, who struck 12 fours, was not out on 68 from 81 deliveries, while Ram, also on his first-class debut, was unbeaten on 61 from 115 (8x4s).
Elsewhere, Venkatesh Iyer struck an impressive 89 to help Madhya Pradesh reach 291 for 7 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group D match against Uttarakhand here on Friday.
MP were 72 for 4 during the morning session but Iyer’s 110-ball knock, studded with 13 boundaries, revived their innings.He found an able ally in Saransh Jain who remained not out on 87 off 196 balls (9×4, 1×6) at the close of play.Anubhav Agarwal was giving company to Jain on 12 not out.For, Uttarakhand, Rajan Kumar and Mayank Mishra took two wickets apiece.In another Group D match in Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir were shot out for 100 in 35.3 overs by Himachal Pradesh with Vaibhav Arora (4/29) and Rishi Dhawan (3/20) doing most of the damage.
In reply, Himachal Pradesh were 47 for no loss at close of play, with Ekant Sen and Prashant Chopra batting on 27 and 19 respectively.
In Delhi, only 19 overs could be possible on the opening day, with the home side being reduced to 40 for 4 by Puducherry.
Delhi captain Yash Dhull made just 2 while his opening partner Lakshay Thareja scored 19. Vaibhav Sharma (9) and Ayush Badoni (2) were out on double-digit scores.For Puducherry, Gaurav Yadav and Abin Mathew took two wickets apiece.
The Ranji Trophy is the premier domestic first-class cricket championship in India, considered the pinnacle of Indian domestic cricket.
It’s like the Indian equivalent of the English County Championship or the Australian Sheffield Shield.
Organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). This tournament features 38 teams representing all 28 Indian states and four of the eight union territories.