Ranji Trophy Group A: Deepak Chahar’s five-for rattles Delhi on opening day

Gautam Gambhir also struggled and was finally gone for a painstaking 24 off 68. (Source: File)

Delhi and Gautam Gambhir’s off-field worries transformed into on-field woes as they were skittled out for a paltry 138 in 47 overs against an inexperienced Rajasthan on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy group league match in Jaipur on Thursday.

Ashok Menaria, leading in the absence of an injured Pankaj Singh, won a good toss as seamer Deepak Chahar grabbed 5 for 60 in 15 overs to leave Delhi in tatters within 47 overs. Left-arm seamer Aniket Chaudhary took 3 for 26 in 13 overs as he ably complemented Chahar.

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At stumps, the home team played cautiously to reach 74 for three in 34 overs with only 65 required to take first innings lead in a match that looks set to have an outright result.

Delhi’s miseries started as early as Unmukt Chand (4) was bowled by a swinging delivery from Chahar having hit a lone boundary.

First change bowler Manjeet Singh got rid off one drop batsman Vaibhav Rawal (8) caught by wicketkeeper Dishant Yagnik. Milind Kumar (6) was gone as Chahr got one to come in after pitching as Delhi were 49 for three.

With coach Ajay Jadeja refusing to come due to presence of assistant coach Amit Bhandari, there was no seasoned tactician in the dressing room, who would tell the boys what needs to be done.

Under pressure Gambhir also struggled for nearly an hour and 43 minutes as he played and missed a lot was finally gone for a painstaking 24 off 68 balls that had four boundaries.

He was dismissed in a now familiar fashion of playing the ugly dab shot to a delivery from Chahar that was angling out as Yagnik made no mistake behind the stumps.

Debutant wicketkeeper Mohit Ahlawat (1) edged one from Aniket that held its line with the angle as Yagnik took his fourth catch.

Manan Sharma (2)’s dismissal made it a sorry scorecard for Delhi as it read 56 for six in 26 overs.

Sumit Narwal (25) and Pradeep Sangwan (18 no), then ensured that Delhi crossed the three-figure mark with a 48 run stand for the seventh wicket.

Narwal, who spanked five boundaries was holed in the deep off a delivery from debutant pacer Natthu Singh. Delhi were soon all-out for 138.

Playing with a four-pronged pace attack on a helpful track, Vineet Saxena (4) and Abhimanyu Lamba (5) were dismissed cheaply by Narwal (2/15) as Rajasthan were 32 for two.

Pranay Sharma (42) hit seven fours as he added 38 for the third wicket before Pradeep Sangwan dismissed him. At close of play, Menaria (19 batting) was in company of Puneet Yadav (2 batting).

Brief Scores: Delhi 1st Innings 138 in 47 overs (Gautam Gambhir 24, Sumit Narwal 25, Deepak Chahar 5/60, Aniket Chaudhary 3/26) Rajasthan 1st Innings: 74/3 (Pranay Sharma 42, Sumit Narwal 2/15).

Sehwag, Rana sizzle as Haryana score 303/6 vs Maharashtra

Virender Sehwag on Thursday started the Ranji Trophy season for his new state Haryana in right earnest as his sparkling 92 set the foundation of a decent score of 303 for six at stumps against hosts Maharashtra, in Pune on Thursday.

Only 19 days shy of his 37th birthday, Sehwag showed glimpses of his vintage self, with his 92 off 129 balls that had 15 well-timed boundaries.

He added 124 runs for the third wicket with centurion Himanshu Rana, who dropped anchor scoring a solid unbeaten 138 off 236 balls that comprised of 20 boundaries.

Brief Scores: Haryana 1st Innings 303/6 (Virender Sehwag 92, Himanshu Rana 138 batting, Samad Fallah 3/70) vs Maharashtra.

Assam’s Syed Mohammad rattles holders Karnataka

Veteran left-arm spinner Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad registered his best first-class bowling figures to single-handedly give Assam an upperhand against defending champions Karnataka on the opening day of their Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match in Guwahati on Thursday.

Syed Mohammad spun the web around Karnataka batsmen to register his best bowling figures of seven for 44 and bundle out the title holders for a paltry 187 in 75.2 overs at Barsapara Cricket Stadium here after the visitors opted to
bat.

At stumps, Assam were 21 for one and still trail Karnataka by 166 runs.

Brief Scores: Karnataka 1st innings: 187 all out in 75.2 (Shishir Bhavane 65; Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad 7/44).

Shanware shines as Jaffer fails on Vidarbha debut

Aditya Shanware struck 119 to take Vidarbha to 256 for six on day one of their Group A match against Odisha in the Ranji Trophy.

Openers Shanware and Jitesh Sharma (49) shared a 93-run stand before the centurion paired up with Ganesh Satish (53) to guide the team to 173 for one. However a middle order collapse meant Vidarbha lost the next five wickets for 83 runs.

Brief scores: Vidarbha 256/6 in 90 overs (Aditya Shanware 119, Ganesh Satish 53; Suryakant Pradhan 2/52, Basant Mohanty 2/31).