Nagpur: Left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhurv scalped four batsmen as Vidarbha bundled out Punjab for 195 on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group B cricket match, here today.
Vidarbha bowlers did everything right after winning the toss, striking consistently.
Fast bowler Shrikant Wagh (2/49) drew the first blood when he trapped Punjab opener Manan Vohra (2) in the third over of the day.
Fellow pacer Swapnil Bandiwar removed the other opener and very talented Jiwanjot Singh (26) after Punjab lost Amitoze Singh (11) and Mandeep Singh (1) cheaply.
Meanwhile, pacer Duvvarapu Shivkumar ripped through Kerala’s top order with a three-wicket burst as Andhra Pradesh reduced the visitors to 202 for seven in their first innings on the opening day of their Group C Ranji Trophy match on Sunday.
Put in to bat by Andhra, Kerala were reeling at 108 for seven before tail-ender Raiphi Gomez and U Manukrishnan pulled things back with a 94-run partnership for the eighth wicket.
Gomez top-scored for the team with a 99-ball 74, which included seven fours and five sixes, while Manukrishnan held the other end with a 110-ball 28.
In Indore, Uttar Pradesh medium-pacers continuously came back to check Madhya Pradesh on the opening day.
Put into bat at the Holkar Stadium, the hosts ended Sunday on 195 for seven in 82 overs with Sanjay Mishra (6) and Puneet Datay (0) fighting on. Praveen Kumar and Rudra Pratap Singh bagged three wickets apiece.
No play was possible in the Tripura versus Services match due to poor visibility.
Summarised scores
Group A
q In Dindgul: Tamil Nadu 254 (W. Raza 5/68). Jammu & Kashmir 28/3
q In Indore: Madhya Pradesh 195/7 (D. Bundela 80) vs Uttar Pradesh
q In New Delhi: Railways 25/2 vs Mumbai
Group B
q In Cuttack: Odisha 219/8 (Natraj 75 batting) vs Gujarat
q In Jaipur: Rajasthan 5/0 vs Saurashtra
q In Nagpur: Punjab 195 (R. Dhurv 4/56). Vidarbha 3/0
q In Rohtak: Haryana 41/2 vs Maharashtra
Group C
q In Guwahati: Assam 133/6 vs Jharkhand
q In Hyderabad: Hyderabad 290/1 (H. Vihari 163 batting, T. Agarwal 114) vs Goa
q In New Delhi: Services vs Tripura. No play on Day I
q In Visakhapatnam: Kerala 202/7 (R. Gomez) vs Andhra
All matches to continue
