Welcome to Sportstar 's live coverage of the first day of the first round of the 2021-22 season of the Ranji Trophy.
It was a momentous day for 19-year-old Yash Dhull as he scored a strokeful 113 to lift Delhi from the doldrums against Tamil Nadu in Guwahati. The U-19 World Cup star's century on first-class debut helped Delhi recover from the loss of early wickets and make a reasonable 291 for 7 by the end of day one.
But the other story of the day was Ajinkya Rahane's responsible innings in a heavyweight clash between Mumbai and Saurashtra. Rahane and 24-year-old Sarfaraz Khan both scored centuries as Mumbai trotted to 263 for 3 by stumps.
There was century, too, for Karnataka star Manish Pandey, whose 156 were scored at a strike-rate of 128.93. It meant Karnataka had piled on 392 for 5 by the end of the day's play against Railways in Chennai.
Join us, at 9am tomorrow, for all the action on day two. Until then, it's goodbye.
UPDATES
HP v Punjab | Half-centuries from Raghav Dhawan (73, 125b, 10x4, 1x6), Ankit Kalsi (88, 131b, 8x4) and Akash Vashisht (78 batting, 104b, 10x4, 2x6) helped Himachal Pradesh score 324 for 6 in the scheduled 90 overs, at the Arun Jaitley stadium in New Delhi.
Andhra v Rajasthan | It's stumps, in Trivandrum. Our correspondent M. R. Praveen Chandran reports : Rajasthan ends at 75 for 2. Girinath has grafted his way to an unbeaten 35. Aniket Choudhary ended the resolute second wicket stand having Karan Shinde caught at slips.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | Sarfaraz Khan reaches the milestone, too. Ayan reports : Fabulous 100 now from Sarfaraz Khan. Lets out a huge roar right after! Walked in with his side in trouble. Dropped anchor, was nine off 60 at lunch. Pushed gears thereafter, stepping out to spinners, sweeping and paddle sweeping happily. Well done.
Bengal v Baroda | Meanwhile, in Cuttack, it's stumps. Y. B. Sarangi reports : Bad light stopped play when Bengal was at 24 for the loss of captain Abhimanyu Easwaran's wicket to Lukman Meriwala.
Delhi v Tamil Nadu | It's stumps, in Guwahati. Delhi 291 for 7. Yash Dhull (113, 150b, 18x4), Jonty Sidhu (71, 179b, 8x4, 2x6), and Lalit Yadav (45 batting, 87b, 5x4, 1x6) have been the main contributors. Dhull and Lalit allowed Delhi a remarkable recovery after two early wickets had fallen, but there has been no large partnership after Dhull's dismissal.
And what a day it has been for Dhull, who scored a strokeful century on first-class debut. He was lucky, too, as he was nearly dismissed for 97. A front-foot no-ball saved him. First, an U-19 World Cup title, then an IPL contract, and now, a first-class century.
Madhya Pradesh v Gujarat | Madhya Pradesh is piling on the runs, too, in Rajkot. Sidharth Sharma is nine runs away from his century. Yash Dubey, the No. 6 batter, is batting on 21. Their partnership is now worth 69.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | Meanwhile, in Ahmedabad, Ajinkya Rahane has scored a century . Here's Ayan Acharya : Ajinkya Rahane gets to a 100. Has played a total of two false shots in the day so far. Authoritative in strokeplay and running between wickets. Got to 99 with a six off Jadeja. The score now: 227 for 3 in 76 overs.
Karnataka v Railways | Pandey has opened up, plundering Railways' bowling. Here's S. Dipak Ragav : Manish Pandey making a mockery of the Railways attack. Hit three sixes in one over of Avinash Yadav. Batting on 134 off 102 (10X6, 9X4).
Karnataka v Railways | It's a century, for Manish Pandey. Karnataka is on top. Pandey celebrated prematurely when he was on 95. And then again when he reached three figures with a six. K. V. Siddharth also has a century.
Andhra v Rajasthan | Here's M. R. Praveen Chandran, from Trivandrum : Aniket Choudhary draws the first blood as Gnaneshwar (1) is caught in the slips. Gnaneshwar is unhappy with the decision. Andhra 16 for 1.
Kerala v Meghalaya | Here's P. K. Ajith Kumar, with the latest from Rajkot : It's tea here at Rajkot and Kerala is already in a good position. After dismissing Meghalaya for 148, the openers have given their team a superb start. The stand between P. Rahul (29 not out, 45b) and Rohan Kunnummal (28 not out 26b) is already worth 59 in 10 overs. Rohan has played some sparkling shots, especially square off the wicket.
Mumbai v Saurashtra | It's tea, in Ahmedabad. Here's Ayan Acharya : Rahane and Sarfaraz looking immovable now. Save that dropped chance and two lbw calls, Sarfaraz has looked untroubled. Rahane playing to his own tempo.
Andhra v Rajasthan | Here's M. R. Praveen Chandran, with the latest from Trivandrum : Rajasthan bowled out for 275. Tanveer Haq is caught and bowled by Manish for 16. Manish picks his second wicket. Aniket Choudhary remains not out on 11.
Delhi v TN | Here's S. Dinakar, with the latest from Guwahati : Delhi was 226 for 5 with the left-handed Jonty Sidhu on 63 against Tamil Nadu at tea. B. Aparajith picked up the wicket of southpaw Anuj Rawat with his off-spin, the batsman caught at slip.
Bengal v Baroda | It's tea, at Cuttack. Here's Y. B. Sarangi : Mitesh Patel (65, 100b, 6x4, 1x6) and Bhargav Bhatt (27) put up an unbeaten 54 run ninth-wicket partnership, the best of their side, as Baroda recovered from a precarious situation to be at 175 for 8 in 51 overs at tea on day one. Mitesh played some attractive shots on both sides and worked the ball in the gaps to keep the scoreboard ticking despite the regular fall of wickets on the other side. Bhatt played a very important knock, hammering three fours and a six. Bengal continued to put pressure after lunch as it claimed two more wickets without much trouble. Ishan had Dhruv Patel to claim his fourth wicket and Mukesh Kumar got his first by dismissing A. Sheth. With conditions easing out for batting, Bengal lost its grip to some extent.
Andhra v Rajasthan | Left-arm quick C. V. Stephen has a five-wicket haul, the fourth of his first-class career. Manav Suther is caught in the slips. Rajasthan 229 for 8.
Kerala v Meghalaya | In Rajkot, Meghalaya has been bowled out. Here's P. K. Ajith Kumar : Meghalaya's innings came to a close within an hour after lunch here at Rajkot. Comeback man S. Sreesanth took the last two wickets, while Edhen Apple Tom calmed four on debut. There were three wickets for Manu Krishnan, with Basil Thampi picking up the other wicket. A fine effort it has been by the Kerala pace quartet. Skipper Punit Bisht waged a lonely battle for Meghalaya with a 90-ball 93 (19x4).
Gujarat v MP | Half-century for Rajat Patidar. MP has recovered nicely after losing two early wickets. Score: 132 for 2 in 50 overs.
Andhra v Rajasthan | Two quick wickets have pegged Rajasthan back, in Trivandrum.
Here's M. R. Praveen Chandran, our correspondent : Rajasthan lose its sixth wicket. A. Chouhan's quickfire innings ends as he top edges and is caught and bowled by Stephen. The sixth wicket pair added a rapid 76 runs.
Stephen on a hat-trick as Rajasthan slumps further. Shubham Sharma is caught behind for a golden duck. Rajasthan 222 for 7.
Bihar v Mizoram | 200 up for Bihar. Babul Kumar and S. Gani have added 135 runs for the fourth wicket. 206/3 in the 58th over.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | The partnership between Rahane and Sarfaraz has ballooned to 85. Here's Ayan Acharya, from Ahmedabad : Loud, loud appeal for lbw against Sarfaraz Khan previous over. A semi plead if you will from Unadkat but umpire unmoved. Hands on head, a few dropping shoulders followed by a synchronized clap from Saurashtra dug out and fielders. This stand is frustrating them.
Delhi v TN | Yash Dhull has been dismissed lbw by M. Mohammed. Here's S. Dinakar : Delhi's Under-19 star Yash Dhull completed a century on Ranji Trophy debut before falling leg-before to Tamil Nadu paceman Mohammed for 113. Delhi was 190 for four in the middle session.
Jharkhand v Chhattisgarh | Jharkhand has been bowled out for 169, at Nehru Stadium, Guwahati. Ajay Mandal was the most successful of Chhattisgarh's bowlers, taking 4 for 47.
Andhra v Rajasthan | Rajasthan is five down now. Here's M. R. Praveen Chandran : Rajasthan loses two quick wickets after lunch. Aditya and Ashok back in the pavilion in the first two overs after lunch. But Rajesh Bishnoi and A. Chouhan counter-attack to take Rajasthan to 187 for 5.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | In Ahmedabad, Ajinkya Rahane has reached fifty. Here's Ayan Acharya : Fifty up for Rahane. Sarfaraz has been the glue. Rahane, in this partnership, has been the more proactive thus far.
Bengal v Baroda | Meanwhile in Cuttack, Baroda has lost its eighth wicket. Ishan Porel now has four. Mitesh Patel is batting on 38, and giving him company is lower-order batter Bhargav Bhatt.
Karnataka v Railways | Setback for Karnataka. Here's S. Dipak Ragav with the update : Left-arm spinner Avinash yadav strikes for Railways immediately after lunch. Gets Samarth with a delivery that bounced a bit extra. Caught at slip. 110 for 3.
TN v Delhi | It's a century on debut for Yash Dhull! The opener has cracked 17 boundaries so far, and has been the backbone of Delhi's innings. Jonty Sidhu has given him good company, he's batting on 44. Here's S. Dinakar:
Jharkhand v Chhattisgarh | Jharkhand is losing wickets in a hurry. The eighth wicket fell in the 46th over, and Pankaj Kumar and Sushant Mishra are batting. Ajay Mandal has three wickets. Score: 152 for 8.
Rajasthan v Andhra | It's lunch, in Trivandrum. Here's M. R. Praveen Chandran : Lunch at St Xavier's College. Rajasthan 144 for 3. Aditya Garhwal batting on 48 and skipper Ashok Menaria on 40. Aditya on 48 gets a reprieve in as he is caught at fine leg off a no-ball from Sasikanth.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | It's lunch. Here's Ayan Acharya, from Ahmedabad : That's lunch on Day 1. Rahane and Sarfaraz have been rock solid after the initial meltdown. Rahane has been disciplined with a generous smattering of flamboyance. Has played one false shot whole morning. Sarfaraz Khan has looked immovable. Mumbai 85 for 3.
Kerala v Meghalaya | Here's P. K. Ajith Kumar, from Rajkot : Edhen Apple Tom is having a dream debut. After taking a wicket with his first ball - he had opener Kishan Lyngdoh edging to slip - he returned to remove Chirag Khurana in his second spell. Manu Krishnan also has scalped two. Punit Bisht is playing a captain's knock for Meghalaya. He is not out on 61 (58b, 12x4) as Meghalaya takes lunch at 112 for five (30 overs).
Bengal v Baroda | It's lunch. Here's Y. B. Sarangi, our correspondent : Baroda was at 95 for six after 29 overs of play till lunch on day one. Mitesh Patel was batting on 23 and Dhruv Patel on 3. Ishan Porel 3/31, Akash Deep 2/36, Shahbaz Ahmed 1/10. After several appeals and one 'wicket' on no ball, Akash Deep finally tasted success scalping two -- Krunal Pandya and Abhimanyu Singh -- in one over. Krunal cut one to be brilliantly caught by Writtick Chatterjee, while Abhimanyu was spectacularly caught behind by Abhishek Porel.Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed, who came in to bowl in the 25th over, struck in his first over to rattle JK Singh's stumps and end the opener's resistance. He made 23 off 73 balls.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | Sarfaraz Khan and Ajinkya Rahane have played solidly. Here's Ayan Acharya : Sarfaraz Khan has dropped anchor. Not once has he looked laboured though. His first boundary came after nearly an hour, crisp drive through covers off Sakariya.
Gujarat v MP | Rajat Patidar moves to 27 with a nice on-drive. It's been a nice partnership between Patidar and Shubham Sharma for the third wicket. Patidar has hit five boundaries in his innings so far, with a few minutes to go for lunch.
TN v Delhi | It's lunch, in Guwahati. Here's S. Dinakar, our correspondent : Delhi inserted, recovered from early blows inflicted by Tamil Nadu pacemen Sandeep Warrier and M. Mohammed to reach 114 for 3 with 15 minutes to go for lunch. U-19 star Yash Dhull, opening the innings, was on a stroke-filled and attractive 71.
Andhra v Rajasthan | Rajasthan batters are scoring runs at a rapid rate and the 100 is up. Here's M. R. Praveen Chandran, from Trivandrum : Debutant spinner T. Vijay gets the breakthrough as he induces a faint edge from Lomor (32) which is snapped by Bharat. Aditya Garhwal is batting fluently on 29. Skipper Ashok Menaria has got into his groove quickly by smashing spinners for boundaries. Rajasthan cross 100 for loss of three wickets.
Jharkhand v Chhattisgarh | It's lunch , at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati. Jharkhand has lost half its side for 120. Saurabh Tiwary, the captain, was dismissed for 14, and only Kumar Deobrat (34, 74b, 5x4) has so far scored more than 20 runs.
Andhra v Rajasthan | Here's M. R. Praveen Chandran, from Trivandrum : Debutant spinner T. Vijay gets the breakthrough as he induces a faint edge from Lomor (32) which is snapped by Bharat. Aditya Garhwal is batting fluently on 29. Skipper Ashok Menaria has got into his groove quickly by smashing spinners for boundaries. Rajasthan cross 100 for loss of three wickets.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | Here's Ayan Acharya, from Ahmedabad : Rahane's presence has been reassuring. Except one half hearted push at a length ball, that went past slip, Rahane has been authoritative in shot making, two gorgeous back-foot punches through covers have come off his bat. He has run his and his partner's runs hard.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | Mumbai is three wickets down already and Ajinkya Rahane is batting. Here's Ayan Acharya, our correspondent, reporting from Ahmedabad : Saurashtra all over Mumbai at the moment. First bowling change of the match gets Unadkat another wicket. Chirag Jani traps Sachin Yadav in front. Sarfaraz Khan joins Rahane. Mumbai 44 for 3, match perfectly set up for Rahane to show his class and discipline as a batsman.
Karnataka v Railways | Karnataka has just reached 50. Opener Mayank Agarwal, however, has been dismissed. Here's S. Dipak Ragav : Soft dismissal for Mayank Agarwal. A huge leg-before appeal. Ball lobbed to gully who took a direct hit as mayank was looking at the umpire but had wandered out of his crease.
Andhra v Rajasthan | Rajasthan has lost two wickets, after choosing to bat. Here's our correspondent M. R. Praveen Chandran, from St. Xavier's KCA Cricket Ground, Trivandrum : Rajasthan loses its second wicket as left arm pacer Stephen castles Manendra Singh for 14. Second wicket for Stephen who has exploited the condition well. Rajasthan 40 for 2. Mahipal Komor batting 21. Aditya Garhwal is the new batter.
Bengal v Baroda | More trouble for Baroda. Akash Deep has two more, and Baroda is five down now, for 72. Krunal Pandya and Abhimanyu Singh were dismissed in the same over.
Gujarat v MP | MP loses its second. Nagwaswalla removes Ajay Rohera, too. MP 49/2 in the 17th over.
Bengal v Baroda | Baroda is three wickets down. Here's Y. B. Sarangi, our correspondent, reporting from Bhubaneswar : After opting to field, Bengal seamers utilised the morning conditions well and created some opportunities. J. K. Singh was dropped on zero at third slip off Mukesh in the third over. Captain Kedar Devdhar played some handsome strokes, scoring 31 off 41 balls studded with four fours. He was caught off Akash Deep in the first slip off a no ball on 27. Akash Deep used the variable bounce and seam movement well. Ishan Porel provided breakthroughs in the 15th over. Devdhar was surprised by the bounce and edged one to gully. P. A. Kumar was adjudged lbw in the same over. Ishan struck again in his next over by having Shivalik Sharma caught behind. Baroda 51/3 (17.2)
Kerala v Meghalaya | Sreesanth is playing for Kerala. It's his first first-class game since 2013. Here's P. K. Ajith Kumar, from Rajkot : Good morning from a cool, pleasant, quiet Rajkot. Kerala won the toss and chose to bowl against Meghalaya on a green-top. Former India Test star S. Sreesanth is one of the four seamers Kerala has included in the eleven. Basil Thampi, Manu Krishnan and a 17-year-old debutant Edhen Apple Tom complete the quartet. Sreesanth looked good with the new ball. He has moved the ball and belied his age (39). Manu provided the breakthrough, cleaning up Wallam Kynshi. Meghalaya 35 for one in 11 overs.
Gujarat v MP | First wicket for Gujarat. Left-arm seamer Arzan Nagwaswalla extracts a drive from Rameez Khan, who edges to gully. Rameez departs for 20. MP 37/1 in 10 overs.
Bengal v Baroda | Two wickets in three deliveries for Ishan Porel. Kedar Devdhar was dismissed for 31, and then P. A. Kumar was trapped lbw. Baroda 41/2 in the 15th over.
Karnataka v Railways | A quiet but solid start for Karnataka, in Chennai. Mayank Agarwal, the opener, has hit some beautiful cover drives, informs Dipak Ragav, our correspondent, who is at the Guru Nanak College stadium.
Mumbai v Saurashtra | Early setback for Mumbai. Prithvi Shaw, the captain, departs for 1. He is dismissed by Jaydev Unadkat. Sachin Yadav and Aakarshit Gomel are at the crease. 7/1.
Gujarat v MP | First boundary of the day for MP. Rohera plays a soft drive through mid-off to collect four runs off Roosh. The delivery wasn't overpitched, but Rohera went through with his stroke anyway. 17/0.
TN v Delhi | Delhi has already lost a couple of wickets, in the first hour of the day's play. Runs have come thick and fast as well. Yash Dhull is off to a rapid start - he's already scored 40 runs off 33 deliveries. He's putting on a good partnership with Nitish Rana, who came in to bat in the fourth over, with Delhi two down for 7. Score: 57/2 in nine overs.
Gujarat v Madhya Pradesh | A quiet first over from left-arm seamer Roosh Kalaria. Gujarat has chosen to bowl first. Madhya Pradesh is, of course, without Naman Ojha, who retired from all formats of cricket last year. Ajay Rohera is the wicketkeeper, he's opened the batting alongside Rameez Khan.
Mumbai v Saurashtra | Mumbai wins the toss and chooses to bat, in Ahmedabad. It's a mouth-watering clash, with Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara playing. A reminder: Saurashtra is the defending champion, having won the 2019-20 title.
Tamil Nadu v Delhi | TN has chosen to bowl, in Guwahati. U-19 star Yash Dhull makes his first-class debut.
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The marquee event of the domestic season is back.
The Ranji Trophy is all set to commence after a gap of nearly two years. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, it couldn't be held in 2020-21, but it's finally here, ending an interminable wait for specialists in red-ball cricket to showcase their prowess and earn their livelihood.
All 38 teams will be in action, including defending champion Saurashtra, which squares off against Mumbai in Ahmedabad. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, the India stalwarts, will likely be playing.
In another heavyweight clash, Tamil Nadu, the Vijay Hazare Trophy runner-up, will play Delhi in Guwahati. Read the preview here .
There may be star attraction, too, in Rajkot. The 39-year-old Sreesanth is part of the 20-member Kerala squad, but it remains to be seen whether he gets a call-up in the final XI which plays Meghalaya.
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