Ranchi, Oct 26 Skipper Ayush Badoni continued his rich vein of form with a second successive century that propelled Delhi to a comfortable 309 for 5 against Jharkhand on the opening day of their group C Ranji Trophy match, here Monday.
Opting to bat, Delhi were in a spot of bother at 181 for 5 before Badoni (106 batting) added 124 runs for the sixth wicket with all-rounder Sumit Mathur (50 batting) to put visitors in a position of strength.
Badoni, who couldn’t find a place in India A team for the tour of New Zealand, has now scored 85, 217 and 106 batting in his last three innings to send a loud reminder to the national selection committee, led by Pragyan Ojha.
The short and wiry Badoni hit 11 boundaries and two sixes — one each off spinner Pratyush Singh and seamer Jatin Pandey.
Badoni’s footwork was immaculate. He also treated seasoned Anukul Roy with disdain, scoring a number of boundaries off him on both sides of the wicket.
Delhi started off on a bright note as flashy Priyansh Arya (39) and stodgy Sanat Sangwan (37) saw off the new ball to add 56 runs.
Once Arya was dismissed, Sangwan and Yash Dhull (29) added 43 runs for the second wicket but none of them concentrated hard enough to cash in on the starts that they got.
Ayush Doseja (23) and Anuj Rawat (18) were also dismissed cheaply before Badoni and Mathur joined hands to steady the ship.
Off-spinner Pratyush was steady as he picked 2 for 63 in 24 overs.
The hallmark of the partnership was that the duo never allowed the opposition to take charge, finding boundaries at regular intervals.
It also helped Badoni that Mathur showed solid defensive technique, playing 119 deliveries and also contributed with five boundaries.
Veteran Sarwate takes 3 as Kerala reduce Bengal to 172 for 6
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At Mangalapuram, outstation professional Aditya Sarwate bowled his wicket-to-wicket tight left-arm spin to take 3 for 38 as Kerala reduced Bengal to 172 for 6 on a rain-curtailed opening day.
Bengal opener Ankur Paul blazed his way to 66 off 80 balls and the visiting team was placed comfortably at 102 for 2 at one stage, but a sudden mini collapse saw them reeling at 108 for 5.
Sudip Kumar Gharami (36) and all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed (35 batting) added 62 runs for the sixth wicket to salvage the situation.
However towards the fag end of the day, Gharami was dismissed by medium pacer Basil N, caught by Abhishek Nair.
Pulkit takes 6 as Services bowl out Odisha for 194
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Services off-spinner Pulkit Narang took his second five-wicket haul in as many games — 6 for 47 — to dismiss Odisha for a lowly 194 in Bhubaneswar.
Gourav Choudhary was top-scorer with 41.
At stumps, Services were 13 for no loss.
Maharashtra dismiss Gujarat for 223
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Off-spinner Siddhesh Veer took four wickets while pacer Rajvardhan Hangargekar and left-arm spinner Vicky Ostwal got three wickets apiece as Maharashtra bowled out Gujarat for 223 in Pune.
For Gujarat, Abhishek Desai (79) and Jaymeet Patel (58) scored half-centuries. At stumps, Maharashtra were 24 for 1.
Brief Scores:
At Ranchi: Delhi 1st Innings: 309 for 5 in 90 overs (Ayush Badoni 106 batting, Sumit Mathur 50 batting)
At Mangalapuram: Bengal 1st Innings 172 for 6 in 50 overs (Ankur Paul 66, Shahbaz Ahmed 35 batting, Sudip Kumar Gharami 36, Aditya Sarwate 3/38) vs Kerala.
At Pune: Gujarat 1st Innings: 223 in 75.5 overs (Abhishek Desai 79, Jaymeet Patel 58, Siddhesh Veer 4/20, Vicky Ostwal 3/75, Rajvardhan Hangargekar 3/64).
Maharashtra 1st innings: 24/1 in 12 overs.
At Bhubaneswar : Odisha 1st Innings 194 (Gourav Choudhary 41, Pulkit Narang 6 for 47). Services 13/0.
(PTI News)
