A six-wicket haul from left-arm spinner Rajwinder Singh catalysed Tamil Nadu’s collapse to have Punjab taking a first-innings lead of 138 on the first day in Dindigul . After Punjab were bowled out for 206, Tamil Nadu were shot out for 68, and with one more wicket falling before stumps, that of Punjab opener Pargat Singh who got out twice on the same day, 21 wickets had fallen in the day. Punjab have, thus, established an early advantage in the virtual knockout: the winning team stays in contention in the Ranji Trophy.
Batting first, Punjab lost their top order quickly, owing to the spin duo of Rahil Shah and DT Chandrasekar. Yuvraj Singh arrived to bat in the 16{+t}{+h} over, and tried to construct a partnership with Mayank Sindhana. The two added 53 in more than 15.1 overs, before Yuvraj was dismissed for a 63-ball 49, which turned out to be the highest individual score in the day. Wickets fell quickly thereafter, but the lower order, in Brainder Sran and Rajwinder Singh, scored a valuable 33 and 23 respectively.
Besides J Kousik, the No. 8, Tamil Nadu’s batsmen all got out for single-digit scores. Within 9.5 overs, six of their batsmen were dismissed, and they were eight down for 42 in the 16{+t}{+h} over when Kousik and Shah added 26 for the ninth wicket. Kousik, after scoring 30, became spinner Sarabjit Ladda’s only wicket, as Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 68.
Bengal bat well in Guwahati
Sayan Mondal and Sudip Chatterjee scored half-centuries to lead Bengal’s batting endeavour against Assam at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. After inserting Bengal in to bat, Assam were rewarded early when opener Abhimanyu Easwaran was bowled by Krishna Das. A 140-run lead between Mondal and Chatterjee ensued, but by close both were out, and a fourth wicket in captain Manoj Tiwary had fallen. Bengal ended the day, in which 76 overs were bowled, at 191 for 4.
Group A
>Maharashtra vs Karnataka in Pune
>Rajasthan vs Odisha in Jaipur
>Vidarbha vs Haryana in Nagpur
Group B
>Tamil Nadu vs Punjab in Dindigul
>Madhya Pradesh vs Andhra in Indore
>Uttar Pradesh vs Baroda in Greater Noida>
Group C
>Kerala vs Himachal Pradesh in Mallapuram
>Tripura vs Services in Agartala
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