KOLKATA: Bihar batters’ poor run continued as they were all out for a paltry 108 in their second match of Ranji Trophy Elite Group B against Chhattisgarh at Moin-ul Haq Stadium in Patna on Saturday.
Medium pacer Ravi Kiran was the wrecker-in-chief for the visitors with a five-for while off-spinner Jivesh Butte took two and medium fast Vashudev Bareth scalped three.
Put into bat first, Bihar lost their first four wickets for only five runs before Sakibul Gani and wicketkeeper-batter Bipin Saurabh arrested the slide with a 78-run stand for the fifth wicket.
But once Saurabh left scoring a quick 46-ball 49, the last four wickets fell for only 25 runs.
In reply, Chhattisgarh were 90 for one at stumps losing opener Eknath Kerkar (25) to medium pacer Akash Raj. Opener Rishabh Tiwary and Ashutosh Singh (16 batting) were at the crease.
Kerala take early advantage: Visitors Kerala were off to a solid start after being put in to bat by hosts Assam on Day 1 of their Ranj Trophy Elite Group B match at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Friday.
When bad light stopped play on a rain-interrupted day in which only 37 overs were possible, Kerala were 141/1. Captain Rohan Kunnummal (83) and Krishna Prasad (52 batting) added 133 for the opening stand with Rohan hitting 11 fours in his 95-ball knock. Seven bowlers were used by captain Riyan Parag, where he bowled one over, but the home team had to for the last ball of 31st over for the first breakthrough when Rohan was dismissed by Siddharth Sarmah.
Krishna bounced back after bagging a pair of duck against Uttar Pradesh in Kerala’s tournament opener. He has hit four fours and a couple of sixes in his 104-ball stay. Rohan Prem was giving him company on four (4).
Senapati lead Odisha fightback: Subhranshu Senapati (87 batting) and wicketkeeper-batter Rajesh Dhuper (51) smashed half-centuries as Odisha reached 208 for six in 85.3 overs in their Elite Group D game against Madhya Pradesh on day one in Indore on Friday.
Put in to bat first, Odisha were in a precarious position after being down to 38 for four in 21.1 overs. But Senapati and Dhuper joined hands to resurrect Odisha innings with an 118-run fifth wicket stand. Stumps were drawn when Prayash Singh returned scoring a cautious 73-ball 27.
Virat’s ton takes Jharkhand to 292/5: In an Elite Group A Ranji Trophy match in Pune, captain Virat Singh struck a fine 108 off 171 balls to help Jharkhand reach 292 for 5 from 89 overs at stumps on Day 1 against hosts Maharashtra. He hit eight fours and three sixes in a strokeful innings.
Kumar Suraj also chipped in with a 156-ball 83 which was studded with 11 fours and one six. For Maharashtra, Hitesh Walunj took three wickets while Ashay Palkar got two.
Brief Scores (selected matches):
