Ranji Trophy Plate Group: Rex’s 8 for 22 puts Manipur in strong position against Mizoram

On a day dominated by the bowlers, Manipur took control of its round-one match against Mizoram thanks largely to Rex Singh's incredible eight for 22.

Rex Singh (right) wrecked havoc on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy season by picking eight wickets.

Left-arm seamer Rex Singh picked up 8 for 22 as Manipur bowled out Mizoram for a paltry 65 on a dramatic opening day of the Plate Group Ranji Trophy match here on Monday.

The 19-year old Rex, who took all the ten wickets in an innings in a Cooch Behar Trophy match last December, ran through the Mizoram line-up in a brilliant pace bowling spell as Manipur, which chose to field, needed just 16 overs to end its rival's innings.

Six Mizoram batsmen were out for nought while only three got into double digits.

In reply, Manipur reached to 225/7 in 71 overs at stumps for a lead of 190 runs on a day which saw 17 wickets fall.

Related: Ranji 2019-20, day one highlights

Rex Singh was also a star with the bat as he remained not out on 58 at the draw of stumps.

Opener Chingangbam Singh hit 89 from 161 balls with the help of 16 boundaries to emerge as the top-scorer for Manipur on day one.

In another Plate Group match, debutant Chandigarh took early control over Arunachal Pradesh by taking an 89-run lead at the end of the first day at Chandigarh.

Medium pacer Shreshth Nirmohi grabbed five wickets for 26 to help Chandigarh skittle Arunachal out for 147 in 44.2 overs.

In response, Chandigarh openers Arsalan Khan and Shivam Bhambri slammed tons to reach 236 for 1 in 38 overs.

Bhambri hit 105 off just 91 balls, while Khan remained not out on 119 off the 131 deliveries he faced.