Ranji Trophy 2015, Group A: Riding high on twin tons, Karnataka gain upper hand on Day 1 against Delhi

The defending champions Karnataka are in driver’s seat at the end of the opening day thanks to tons from Robin Uthappa and Mayank Agarwal. (Source: Express File)

Robin Uthappa flayed Delhi bowlers with disdain hitting part-time off-spinner Dhruv Shorey for 32 in a single over as his third successive hundred took Karnataka to a comfortable 358 for three against Delhi in the group A league encounter of the Ranji Trophy.

Courtesy Uthappa’s 141-ball-148 that had 16 boundaries and six maximums along Mayank Agarwal’s (118) maiden first-class hundred, the defending champions are in driver’s seat at the end of the opening day.

The duo added 236 runs for the second wicket stand with Agarwal hitting 19 boundaries off 209 balls.

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When the stumps were drawn, Manish Pandey and Karun Nair were batting on 31 runs each, with help of four and two boundaries, respectively. They stitched an unbeaten 61-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Uthappa, who is riding high on his form, hammered his third consecutive century after his scores of 160 and 148 against Rajasthan and Odisha in the previous games.

Sent into bat, Karnataka lost their first wicket of Ravikumar Samarth at 47 when he Pawan Suyal castled him with an incoming delivery.

Uthappa joined Agarwal, and both started making runs at a quick pace of 3.43 runs per over and took Karnataka total to 120 for one at lunch.

In the post lunch session, Karnataka came out with renewed energy, and in just four overs Uthappa and Agarwal cracked 21 runs with Uthappa hitting three more boundaries and Agarwal helping himself with a boundary.

Having struck a chord, Agarwal and Uthappa batted very well in tandem, which helped Karnataka cross 200 in 55.1 overs. Both Agarwal and Uthappa reached their centuries after facing 175 and 122 balls, respectively.

Just at the stroke of tea, Uthappa crushed Shorey for 32 runs in his very first over by smashing four huge sixes, taking his score from 102 to unbeaten 134 in a jiffy.

Karnataka 1st Innings 358/3 (Robin Uthappa 148, Mayank Agarwal 118, Pawan Suyal 2/78).

Easwaran shows class; 20 wickets fall in Bengal vs Odisha game

Opener Abhimanyu Easwaran stood tall amidst ruins with a classy 88 with as many as 20 wickets fell on the opening day of Bengal’s penultimate Ranji Trophy group league encounter against Odisha on Monday.

The frail looking right-hander scored 88 runs in Bengal’s meagre first innings score of 142 in 47.3 overs on a wicket which was distinctly under-prepared.

It showed when Odisha were bundled out for 107 in 29 overs with young off-spinner Aamir Gani picking up a career best 6 for 34. He was well supported by left-arm spin duo of Pragyan Ojha (2/25) and debutant Anurag Tiwary (2/26).

Brief Scores: Bengal 142 all out; 47.3 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 88; Dhiraj Singh 5/58, Suryakant Pradhan 3/15) and 23 for no loss; 9 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 20 batting).

Odisha 107 in 29 overs (Aamir Gani 6/34, Pragyan Ojha 2/25, Anurag Tiwary 2/26).

Pankaj takes 4 on return as Rajasthan skittle Haryana for 112

Lahli (Haryana), Nov 23 (PTI) Skipper Pankaj Singh made a successful return to first-class cricket with a rich haul of 4/10 in only 14.2 overs as Rajasthan bowled out hosts Haryana for a paltry 112 in a Ranji Trophy Group A encounter on Monday.

The former India pacer, who last played for Rajasthan in April, was at his miserly best as only rival skipper Virender Sehwag (29) surpassed the 25-run mark. The others crossing the 20-run mark were the two Mohits — Hooda and Sharma, who scored 22 and 23 respectively.

In reply, Rajasthan were comfortably placed at 75 for one as they batted at a time when the pitch eased out. Dogged opener Vineet Saxena was batting on 38 in company of Puneet Yadav, who is on 12.

Brief Scores: Haryana 1st Innings 112 in 52.2 overs (Virender Sehwag 29, Pankaj Singh 4/10, Rajat Bhatia 3/41)

Rajasthan 75/1 in 26 overs

Day 1 called off in Assam-Maharashtra game

The first day’s play in the Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match between Assam and Maharashtra was called off without a ball being bowled owing to bad light on Monday.

Even the toss could not take place at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.