Ranji Trophy Group B: Delhi, Bengal, Hyderabad on top because of batting dominance

Ranji Trophy Group B Round 2 Day 1: Hiten Dala shone on debut for Delhi even as Himachal made a comeback at New Delhi. In Kolkata, Ghosh hit a superb century for Bengal and Hyderabad captain Akshat Reddy scored 114 against Tamil Nadu

Delhi vs Himachal Pradesh at New Delhi

Hiten Dalal scored a brisk 79 on debut before Himachal Pradesh fought back to reduce Delhi to 305 for eight at stumps on day one of a Group B Ranji Trophy match here Monday.

Dhruv Shorey (88) too made a significant contribution but missed out on a hundred on a day when some questionable umpiring calls were made.

Gautam Gambhir, who was on 44, vented out his frustration after being caught at short leg off left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar in the 17th over. The replays showed that the ball only hit the pad before Priyanshu Khanduri claimed the catch, ending a 96-run opening-wicket partnership between Gambhir and Dalal.

Dalal and Shorey then took the innings forward. Dalal, who had scored a fifty also on his List A debut earlier this year, went for the attack at the slightest of opportunities. He ended up collecting 10 fours and three sixes.

Once Dalal departed, Shorey never really got the support he was looking for with Delhi suffering a middle-order collapse after being 161 for one in the 34th over.

Dagar was the pick of the bowlers for Himachal Pradesh, taking three wickets for 57 runs in 21 overs while off-spinner Gurvinder Singh took two for 57 in 21 overs.

 

Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh at Kolkata

In another Group B match, Koushik Ghosh struck his second first-class ton leading Bengal to a strong position against Madhya Pradesh at at Kolkata.

Sent in to bat first after Madhya Pradesh won the toss, Bengal ended day 1 at 246 for 4 with captain Manoj Tiwary unbeaten on 31.

The star of the day was Ghosh, who scored a 100 off 189 balls and was ably supported by Abhimanyu Easwaran, who scored 86.

 

Hyderabad vs Tamil Nadu at Tirunelveli

Skipper Akshath Reddy led from the front with a superb unbeaten 114 to help Hyderabad make 249 for 3 to take the honours on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match against Tamil Nadu.

The visiting team elected to bat after winning the toss and suffered an early blow when Tanmay Agarwal (10) was out, edging one to wicketkeeper N Jagadeesan off M Mohammed in the sixth over. The talented Rohit Rayudu walked in at the fall of Tanmay and pottered around for 54 balls for 13 before being caught by B Anirudh Sitaram.

 

Andhra Pradesh vs Kerala at Thiruvananthapuram

BRIEF: Andhra Pradesh 225 for 8 in 89.3 overs (Ricky Bhui 109, Shiv Charan Singh 45, Akshay KC 4 for 56) vs Kerala.