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Ranji Trophy round-up: Upadhyay wrecks Karnataka top-order

Last updated on: December 22, 2014 00:41 IST

Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa in action. Photograph: PTI

Medium pacer Krishnakant Upadhyay's inspiring spell on a greenish pitch helped Railways restrict defending champions Karnataka to 207 for seven on day one of their Ranji Trophy Group A cricket match in New Delhi.

Upadhyay (4/75) wrecked a formidable Karnataka top-order before fellow-pacer Ranjitkumar Mali (2/43) did his bit to give the home team advantage going into day two.

The major contributions to Karnataka's innings came at the top from opener Robin Uthappa (40 runs off 56) and number three Kunal Kapoor (53 off 110).

Upadhyay gave Railways the breakthrough in 14th over, getting Mayank Aggarwal (7) to edge one to Nitin Bhille at second slip.

Uthappa and Kapoor carried Karnataka into lunch at 53 for one in 17 overs. Uthappa was his usual attacking self, finding six boundaries in his quick-fire knock. However, one of India's World Cup probables could only last three balls after lunch with Upadhayay getting him caught at second slip.

Uthappa was dropped on 37 before the break.

His dismissal brought the stylish Manish Pandey (18 off 19) to the crease. He seemed to be in a hurry and smashed three fours and a six before mistiming another hit to be caught at mid-off. Mali did not have to wait long for his second wicket as he trapped Karun Nair in front of the stumps, leaving Karnataka at 100 for four.

By tea, the visitors were reeling at 165 for six in 53 overs.

Only 15 overs could be bowled in the final session when wicket-keeper CM Gautam (31 not out) came up with some rearguard action alongside Shreyas Gopal (14 not out) and took Karnataka past 200.

Brief scores:

Karnataka 207/7 in 68 overs (Robin Uthappa 40, Kunal Kapoor 53; Krishnakant Upadhyay 4/74, Ranjitkumar Mali 2/43).

UP reach 115 for one on Day 1 against Mumbai

Fine batting by Tanmay Srivastava and Prashant Gupta helped Uttar Pradesh reach 115 for one on the first day of their Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match against Mumbai in Kanpur on Sunday.

Due to inclement weather, only 50 overs could be bowled at the Green Park stadium.

Put in to bat, the hosts lost Mukul Dagar (15) cheaply when medium pacer Shardul Thakur bowled out the opener to give Mumbai their first breakthrough.

At close of play, Srivastava was unbeaten on 49 off 160 balls, which included eight boundaries, while Gupta was on 41 off 107 deliveries studded with six fours.

Thakur (1/31) was the lone wicket-taker for Mumbai.

Brief scores:

Uttar Pradesh 1st innings: 115 for one in 50 overs Tanmay Srivastava 49, Prashant Gupta 41; Shardul Thakur 1/31).

Patel bags four wickets to bundle out Saurashtra for 207

Axar Patel took a four-wicket haul, even as Saurashtra batsmen continued their lacklustre batting performance to be bundled out for a meagre 207 against Gujarat in their Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match, in Rajkot.

Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Shah won the toss and elected to bat but only Sheldon Jackson could resist the Gujarat bowling attack, led by promising Patel (4 for 72) at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium Khandheri.

Having lost their opening match against Delhi and gaining just one point against Rajasthan, Saurashtra are eyeing a comeback on the home ground.

Medium Pacer Krushang Patel gave Gujarat an early breakthrough dismissing Bhushan Chauhan (3), while Patel dismissed Sagar Jogiyani (26) and trapped Arpit Vasavada on 16 to give Gujarat an upper hand.

Kamlesh Makwana (26 not out) and Siddharth Trivedi (26) then put on a solid 44 runs for the ninth wicket together.

At stumps, Gujarat were three for no loss in two overs with Samit Gohil (0) and Priyank Patel (3) at the crease.

Brief Scores:

Saurashtra 1st innings: 207 all out in 91.1 overs (Sheldon Jackson 48; Axar Patel 4/72, Krushang Patel 2/44).

Gujarat 1st innings: 3 for no loss in 2 overs.

Andhra post 160/3 on Day 1

Andhra Pradesh batsmen did well on a murky opening day to post 160 for three against Services in the Group C Ranji Trophy cricket match in New Delhi.

Put in to bat at Palam Grounds in the four-day encounter, the Mohammad Kaif-led Andhra lost Prasanth Kumar (14) early but fellow-opener Srikar Bharat (47) stuck around to give some stability to the innings.

After Bharat's departure, Gonnabattula Chiranjeevi (31) and Andimani Ganga Pradeep (47 not out) also managed a 59-run third-wicket partnership to give more muscle to the innings.

Pace spearhead Suraj Yadav, new-ball partner Roshan Raj and left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar shared a wicket each on a day when only 60 overs were possible.

Brief Scores:

Andhra 1st innings: 160/3 in 60 overs (AG Pradeep 47 not out, A Rakesh 15 not out; Suraj Yadav 1-27).

Day 1 honours for Punjab against Maharashtra

Punjab produced an impressive bowling show to bundle Maharashtra out for 210 to take the opening day honours in their Ranji Trophy cricket match in Pune.

Pacer Siddarth Kaul led the fine bowling display by Punjab with figures of 3/46 as the home side folded their first innings in 71.4 overs after being put into bat at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

India discard and captain Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Sharma and Maninder Singh chipped in with two wickets apiece while Yuvraj Singh got one wicket.

For Maharashtra, Rahul Tripathi top-scored with 56 from 110 deliveries while Ankit Bawne contributed 44. The duo stitched 86 runs for the sixth wicket to take the home side score past 200 mark.

In reply, Punjab were 26 for one from 12 overs before the draw of stumps. Opener Jiwanjot Singh and Amitoze Singh were batting on 16 and eight respectively.

Punjab now trail by 184 runs with nine first innings wickets in hand.

Brief Scores:

Maharashtra 1st Innings: 210 all out in 71.4 overs (Rahul Tripathi 56; Siddarth Kaul 3/46, Harbhajan Singh 2/37).

Punjab 1st Innings: 26 for 1 in 12 overs.

Hyderabad reach 225/7 against Kerala

Hanuma Vihari top-scored with 76 as Hyderabad managed 225/7 on day one of their Group C Ranji Trophy cricket match against Kerala in Wayanad.

At stumps, Ibrahim Khaleel and Ashish Reddy were batting on 35 and 34 respectively.

Hyderabad were struggling at 154 for seven after Vihari's dismissal, but an eighth-wicket unbroken partnership of 71 runs between Khaleel and Reddy saved the visitors further blushes.

Vihari scored his runs in 160 balls, hitting 12 fours and a six at the Krishnagiri Stadium.

Perumparambath Anthaf was the most impressive Kerala bowler, returning figures of 3/39.

Brief scores:

Hyderabad 1st innings: 225/7 in 90 overs (Hanuma Vihari 76; Perumparambath Anthaf 3/39).

Vidarbha 101/3 against Haryana

Vidarbha reached 101/3 in 47 overs before play was called off due to bad weather in their Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match in Rohtak.

Sent into bat at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Lahli, Faiz Fazal and Shalabh Shrivastava were batting on 42 and 10 respectively.

Only 47 overs were possible as play had to be called off due to poor visibility.

The visitors lost opener Sanjay Ramswamy (0) with just three runs on the board, before Ganesh Satish departed for 23 with the help of three boundaries.

Skipper Subramaniam Badrinath made 20 off 45 balls with the help of three fours.

Ashish Hooda had figures of 2/29 for Haryana.

Brief scores:

Vidarbha: 101/3 in 47 overs (Faiz Fazal 42 batting).

Misal hits half-century as Goa reach 274 for seven

Middle order batsman Darshan Misal scored an unbeaten half-century to help Goa reach 274 for seven in their first innings of the Ranji Trophy Group C cricket match against Himachal Pradesh in Porvorim.

Opting to bat, Goa did not have the kind of start they were looking for as wickets kept falling at regular interval, and at one stage, the hosts were struggling at 96 for five, despite a quickfire 55-ball 42 by one-down batsman Sagun Kamat.

Misal, however, came to the team's rescue, scoring a brilliant unbeaten 89 off 190 balls, studded with nine boundaries and a six.

Misal first shared a crucial 84-run stand with Saurabh Bandekar (40) for the sixth wicket, and then joined hands with Shadab Jakati (44) to put on 90 runs for the seventh wicket.

For HP, Vikramjeet Malik (2/55) and Gurvinder Singh

(2/55) took two wickets each.

At stumps, Misal was holding fort with Robin D'Souza (3).

Brief Scores:

Goa 1st innings: 274 for seven in 90 overs (Darshan Misal 89, Shadab Jakati 44, Sagun Kamat 42; Vikramjeet Malik 2/55, Gurvinder Singh 2/55).

Dutt's fifer gives Tripura upper hand against Jharkhand

Rana Dutt grabbed five wickets in a brilliant pace-bowling spell as Tripura took early control of their Ranji Trophy cricket match against Jharkhand on the opening day at Dhanbad.

Dutt ripped through the Jharkhand top-order batting line-up with figures of 5/64 while his pace colleagues Manisankar Murasingh and Abhijit Sarkar took two wickets apiece to bundle the home side out for just 142 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Kumar Deobrat was the only Jhrakhand batsman to give some sort of resistance to the Tripura bowlers with a 121-ball 75 which was studded with 10 fours and three sixes.

In reply, Tripura were 72 for two in 31 overs before the draw of the stumps, trailing by 70 runs with eight first innings wickets in hand. Opener Bishal Ghosh and Rakesh Solanki were batting on 25 and 40 respectively before close.

For Jharkhand, pacer Kaushal Singh took both the Tripura wickets.

Breif Scores:

Jharkhand 1st Innings: 142 all out in 54.5 overs (Kumar Deobrat 75; Rana Dutt 5/64).

Tripura 1st Innings: 72 for 2 in 31 overs (Rakesh Solanki 40 not out; Kaushal Singh 2/15).

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