Blog - Priyam Garg rescues UP; Vidarbha, Baroda and TN start with a win

The first leg of matches of this season's Ranji Trophy concludes, and we bid you goodbye too. But not before sharing Krunal Pandya's joy of his side Baroda beating Mumbai after 26 years...

... and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association's gratitude towards its groundstaff for making play possible in Coimbatore despite plenty of rain.

Take a look at the Ranji Trophy points table to see where the teams stand after the first leg. Until next time, this is Himanshu signing off on behalf of Vishal. See you!

Pondicherry set Rajasthan 239 to win in Jaipur, but the hosts fell only 19 short before the match was called a draw. They batted for 60 overs, but managed only 220 to fall agonisingly short of three more points after they were 43 ahead in the first innings. This could be possibly down to Kunal Singh Rathore consuming 126 balls to score 59, thus lacking the impetus required to chase down 239 against time. Pondicherry, though, won't mind taking home the solitary point.

Priyam Garg alone scored 105* out of UP's second-innings total of 162, as the hosts escaped with a draw against Bengal. The next highest score by a UP batter was 12. Mukesh Kumar and Mohammed Kaif had their tails up, and UP down at 79 for 4 at one stage, but neither could dislodge Garg. As a result, Bengal get three points, and UP manage one from the drawn game.

Jharkhand would always have to fight against time to try and hunt down the 175 runs required to beat Assam in Guwahati. Eventually, the match was called drawn when the visitors were 74 for 3 in the 11th over, thus starting in a hurry to push for a win. Their offspinner Utkarsh Singh was the Player of the Match for six wickets as well as a half-century in the game.

Uttarakhand's lower order frustrated hosts Himanchal Pradesh in Dharamsala, but couldn't prevent an innings win for them. HP had Uttarakhand at 84 for 6 in the second innings, with the visitors another mammoth 280 runs behind at the time. But captain Ravikumar Samarth, who scored 112, added 117 with Yuvraj Chaudhary to take it deep. Eventually, though, Uttarakhand lost 4 for 66, as medium pacer Divesh Sharma bagged 5 for 55 to follow up his 3 for 47 in the first innings. Earlier, Ankit Kalsi (205*), Prashant Chopra (171), Shubham Arora (118) and Ekant Sen (101) laid the foundation for HP's first-innings total of 663, and ultimately, a win.

Former Vidarbha left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate took nine wickets in the match, as Kerala beat Punjab by eight wickets after chasing down 158. Captain Sachin Baby scored 56, Rohan Kunnummal smashed 48 off just 36 balls, and former Tamil Nadu batter Baba Aparajith was unbeaten on 39 in the chase. Aparajith even took four wickets in the second innings, while Jalaj Saxena took five in the first to set up the win.

Mukesh Kumar has been banging the ball short, and getting to rise steeply towards Priyam Garg's head, shoulder and neck. Shahbaz Ahmed has exhausted his energy in appealing virtually every ball against Garg and Akshdeep Nath. UP were 79 for 4 against Bengal when these two got together, but Garg now has 70 of the 114 runs scored in their fourth innings so far. Plenty is happening off the pitch - turn and extra bounce for the spinners, and appreciable carry for the quicks - but Bengal are still six wickets away from victory.

An all-round performance from hosts Vidarbha handed them a come-from-behind 74-run win against Andhra in Nagpur. The visitors were 177 for 1 chasing 318, but lost 9 for 56 to be bowled out for 243. Aditya Thakare and Harsh Dubey took four wickets each, after Atharva Taide's 118 set up Vidarbha's win despite them falling 49 behind in the first innings.

Priyajitsing Jadeja and Rinkesh Vaghela take three wickets each, while Arzan Nagwaswalla and Siddharth Desai have two apiece, as Gujarat beat Hyderabad by 126 runs in Secundarabad. Hyderabad were 127 for 4 at one stage, but were bowled out for 170 in pursuit of 297. There were a number of starts by their top-eight batters, but Abhirath Reddy's 51 remained the highest contribution.

Offspinner Utkarsh Singh and left-arm spinner Manishi take three wickets each, as Jharkhand end Assam's fightback after following on in Guwahati. Akash Sengupta hit 92 from No. 7 for the hosts, whose lower order took their second-innings total to 355 after they were 210 for 8 at one stage. As a result, Jharkhand need 175 for a win, with all of those runs to be scored in the evening session.

Not a lot of play is remaining in the game, but Chhattisgarh vs Delhi, in Raipur, could yet get interesting. The hosts started Day 4 at 33 without loss, after conceding a 14-run lead to Delhi. But the experienced fast bowler Navdeep Saini led the show for the visitors. He has so far taken three wickets, as Chhattisgarh are 169 for 6, with a lead of 155. Who knows where this one goes?

A right-arm pacer like his elder brother and senior India quick Mohammed Shami, Bengal's Mohammed Kaif takes a sharp return catch to get rid of UP's Swastik Chikara in Lucknow. UP are 31 for 2 after Bengal set them 274 to win, declaring their second innings at 254 for 3.

Four overs later, Kaif cleans up Siddharth Yadav for 8 to get his second wicket. UP 47 for 3, and in trouble.

Punjab resumed from their overnight score of 23 for 3, after edging by 15 runs in the first innings. But Kerala's charge in Thumba was led by none other than former Punjab legspinner Mayank Markande, who grabbed 6 for 59 to help bowl his former side out for 142. Kerala need 158 to win, and their openers Sachin Baby and Rohan Kunnummal have started in a hurry.

Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt bags 6 for 55, as Baroda beat defending champions Mumbai by 84 runs after an extended morning session in Vadodara. Siddhesh Lad was the only one fighting for the visitors - he was the last man out for 59, caught and bowled by Bhatt - as Mumbai lose 6 for 73 from what looked like an evenly-matched state of the game. Bhatt, who got 4 for 53 in the first innings, finishes with 10 for 108 in the game, and is named Player of the Match.

Hosts Hyderabad, on their way to chasing 297 against Gujarat in Secundarabad, are in big trouble after the first session on Day 4. Arzan Nagwaswalla and Rinkesh Vaghela have struck twice each for the visitors, after Umang Kumar's 85 and Anikethreddy's 5 for 36 were the highlights from Gujarat's second-innings total of 201.

Rajasthan vs Pondicherry in Jaipur, meanwhile, looks like a lot more balanced game. The hosts' openers have looked stable in their pursuit of 239, after their bowlers' collective effort restricted the visitors to 281. This could possibly go down all the way.

Andhra were set 318 to win against Vidarbha in Nagpur, and their top order has wiped out more than half that requirement. Abhishek Reddy is unbeaten on 73, while Shaik Rasheed is 60 not out. Vidarbha's only success came when Harsh Dubey trapped Hanuma Vihari for 22, but Reddy and Dubey have so far added 111.

Right-arm pace bowler Divesh Sharma, on debut for Himachal Pradesh, takes his third to send Uttarakhand hurtling towards a potential innings defeat. They are 84 for 5 at the moment, a massive 280 runs still behind after following on. They totalled 299 in the first innings in reply to HP's 663 for 3, with HP in the driver's seat in the hills of Dharamsala.

Debutants take Tamil Nadu to innings victory over Saurashtra. Left-arm quick Gurjapneet Singh finishes with 6 for 22 in the second innings, while right-arm pacer Sonu Yadav bags 3 for 29. Tamil Nadu win by an innings and 70 runs, as Saurashtra fold for 94 in the second innings.

Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran hits a century in his fourth successive first-class game, as Bengal's openers add 212 after their side gained a slim 19-run first-innings lead against UP in Lucknow. Maybe another step closer for Easwaran towards India's squad for the tour of Australia? We'll find out soon.

His opening partner Sudip Chatterjee, meanwhile, falls for 93 after scoring 116 in the first innings. Saurabh Kumar pitched one on a fullish length on middle and got it to turn, with replays indicating it might have missed leg stump, as Chatterjee looked to flick. But Bengal are in command.

Fielding at short leg as a substitute for captain Krunal Pandya, Baroda's 19-year-old Priyanshu Moliya is hit flush around his left ear by a forceful pull shot from Siddhesh Lad. The ball from Mahesh Pithiya was short, and Lad thumped the ball, only for it to crash into Moliya, who turned his neck to his right when he anticipated the ball coming to him. The physio has a long check on Moliya, and play resumes after a few minutes' gap.

Visitors Saurashtra are 61 for 7 as I type, still 103 runs behind Tamil Nadu. They had started Day 4 at 35 for 5, and the hosts' left-arm quick Gurjapneet Singh adds two more to his overnight tally of four wickets. The only positive for Saurashtra at the moment is the presence of their veterans Sheldon Jackson and Jaydev Unadkat at the crease, as they look to wipe out the deficit to avoid an innings defeat to start the season.

Bhargav Bhatt bowled one with a flat trajectory on a fullish length on middle and off, and trapped Rahane at the crease. The Mumbai captain only came half forward to try and block, and was hit on his pads. Baroda strike early on Day 4, but... Shreyas Iyer arrives, and reverse sweeps his first ball for four over point. Game on in Vadodara!

MP's left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya went around the wicket to Mayank Agarwal. The ball was full and just outside leg, and as Agarwal looked to defend with bat behind pad, the ball just brushed his glove to pop up to silly mid-off. Karnataka lose a wicket in the first over in Indore after MP declare at 425 for 8.

The Mumbai captain takes a good stride forward to drive to deep point to get his side ticking in their chase of 262 in Vadodara. They resumed the day at 42 for 2, with the pitch offering plenty of turn and bounce for the Baroda spinners. The first ball of the second over jumps on to him and cramps him for room, before popping up to nearly fall into the diving wicketkeeper's gloves.