Haryana gained the upper hand on an eventful opening day of its Ranji Trophy group ‘C’ match against Assam on Tuesday, taking a 101-run lead after bundling out its opponents for 97 in the first innings. Haryana finished the day at 198 for 9.
Captain Harshal Patel’s decision to bowl after winning the toss paid dividends as he and left-arm spinner Tinu Kundu (5/35) wrecked the Assam batting line-up, making good use of the conditions. Medium-pacer Patel, who has been key for Haryana this season, finished with 4 for 32.
Opener Kunal Saikia (17) and one-down batsman Rishav Das (13) defied the Haryana attack for a while but once Kundu dismissed the latter, Assam kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The talented Riyan Parag, on whom a lot depended, was out leg-before to Kundu for a duck.
Rajjakuddin Ahmed (35 not out) hit six fours and a six in his aggressive 34-ball knock that helped Assam get close to 100. In reply, Haryana looked in trouble having lost half the side for 65 before a defiant 76-run partnership between Chaitanya Bishnoi (46) and R P Sharma (59) sparked a revival.
Bishnoi was very watchful to begin with but opened up later to play some attractive shots and hit two big sixes. Later, the skipper Harshal Patel (28) smacked three fours and two sixes to help Haryana extend the lead.
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