Pujara out on 2 as HP eye first-innings lead

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, December 9

Saurashtra trail by 27 runs with three wickets in hand on Day 1 of the Group B Ranji Trophy opener against Himachal Pradesh here.

HP won the toss elected to bat first. However, the decision backfired as the hosts were bowled out for 120 in just 42.3 overs. Opener Prashant Chopra (33) was the top-scorer while Sumeet Verma scored 22 runs. For the visitors, medium-pacers Jaydev Unadkat (3/31), Chirag Jani (3/26) and Prerak Mankad bagged three wickets each. In reply, Saurashtra were struggling at 93/7 in 28 overs at close of stumps. Saurashtra’s trump card Cheteshwar Pujara was castled by medium-pacer Vaibhav Arora for just two runs. Pujara’s stay at the crease lasted only 17 balls. For the hosts, Arora and Pankaj Jaiswal bagged three wickets each. All-rounder Rishi Dhawan bagged one wicket.

Bowlers shine for Punjab

Jaipur: Punjab’s bowlers put Rajasthan on the mat at 256/9 as pacer Siddarth Kaul scalped 3/68 while Baltej Singh and Sanvir Singh bagged a couple of wickets each on Day 1 of their Group A match. Debutant Ashwani Kumar and leg-spinner Mayank Markande took one wicket each. Punjab’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss proved right as the hosts were struggling at 85/3 in 26.1 overs. Mahipal Lomror (60) and Salman Khan (53) hit half-centuries to bail the team out of the tough situation but the lower-order failed to build on the platform. For Punjab, 18-year-old left-arm medium-pacer Ashwani Kumar, 30-year-old middle-order batsman Sharad Lumba and wicketkeeper Anmol Malhotra (24) made their First-Class debut.

Haryana reach 279/3

Rohtak: Opener Shubham Rohilla and middle-order batsman Shivam Chauhan scored centuries as Haryana reached 279/3 against Maharashtra on the opening day of their Group C match. Rohilla and Chauhan added 221 runs for the third wicket to resurrect Haryana’s first innings after they were reduced to 24/2 in the eighth over. While Chauhan blasted two sixes and hit 14 boundaries in his 208-ball 117, opener Rohilla slammed 15 boundaries in his unbeaten knock of 117 runs in 234 balls.

Electing to bat, Haryana didn’t make a good start as opener Ankit Kumar (14) was sent packing by Samad Fallah in the seventh over. New batsman Chaitanya Bishnoi (1) was dismissed by Anupam Sanklecha in the next over. Chauhan and Rohilla took Haryana to the 50-run mark in 14.4 overs. At lunch, the duo had helped Haryana post 127/2 in 33.6 overs. Haryana reached the 250-run mark in 77.5 overs before the stumps were drawn. For Maharashtra, Fallah (1/42), Sanklecha (1/58) and Pradeep Dadhe claimed one wicket each.

Snake entry delays Vidarbha-Andhra game

Vijaywada: In a bizarre incident, the start of the match between Vidarbha and Andhra today was delayed by a few minutes after a snake entered the ground here. "SNAKE STOPS PLAY! There was a visitor on the field to delay the start of the match," BCCI Domestic tweeted a 13-second video. PTI