Shubman Gill Falls For 1 On Return As Punjab Captain Uday Saharan Rescues Side

Skipper Uday Saharan struck an unbeaten century to rescue Punjab after Shubman Gill's return to the Ranji Trophy lasted just five balls, while Rinku Singh, Priyansh Arya and Ayush Badoni also notched up centuries on the opening day of the second round of the Ranji Trophy on Sunday. In the Elite Group B clash at the new PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh, Saharan's unbeaten 106, studded with 13 fours, lifted Punjab to 269/4 against Chhattisgarh. Rinku's unbeaten 118 off 186 balls, including 11 fours and two sixes, pulled Uttar Pradesh out of trouble before Goa reached 43/0 in 12 overs in reply. Arya, playing his first match of the season, fell one run short of a maiden double century in first-class cricket, while captain Badoni struck an unbeaten 115 to power Delhi to 381/4 against Gujarat.

Saharan, who captained India to a runners-up finish at the 2024 Men's U-19 World Cup, used the sweep and slog sweep effectively against Chhattisgarh's left-arm spin duo of Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Ajay Mandal.

Openers Vihaan Malhotra (40 off 77 balls) and Harnoor Pannu put on a half-century stand to blunt the new ball before both were trapped lbw by Jadeja and Mandal respectively.

Gill, playing his first Ranji Trophy match of the season before India's tour of New Zealand, came in at No. 4 but managed just one run. Mandal lured him forward and beat him through the gate to rattle the stumps.

Saharan and Prabhsimran Singh (62 off 133 balls) then rebuilt the innings with a 130-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Although Prabhsimran was trapped lbw by Jadeja before tea, Saharan marched on to bring up his third first-class century off 168 balls. Wicketkeeper-batter Salil Arora (38 not out off 75 balls) ensured Punjab added 71 runs in the final session without further loss.

In Elite Group A at Green Park, Kanpur, Rinku registered his 11th first-class century and second successive hundred of the season, dragging Uttar Pradesh from 137/9 to 202 against Goa.

At the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara, Raj Limbani's four-wicket haul helped Baroda bowl out Bihar for 166 before reaching 77/3 at stumps.

At the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar, debutant Kawalpreet Singh fell four runs short of a century but helped defending champions Jammu and Kashmir recover to 260 all out in 82.5 overs against Vidarbha. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh's pacers bowled out Puducherry for 177, with the hosts ending the day on 23/2.

In another Elite Group B fixture, a maiden first-class fifty from Manvanth Kumar led Karnataka's lower-order resistance as they reached 281/8 after birthday boy Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya had made early inroads for Saurashtra in Alur.

Sibsankar Roy's half-century guided Assam to 228/6 against Tripura, while Andhra spinners Saurabh Kumar and T Vijay bowled out Hyderabad for 275. Andhra were 9/0 at stumps, trailing by 266 runs.

In Elite Group C, Bengal, playing without veteran pacer Mohammed Shami, were bowled out for 184 by Services. However, the visitors hit back to reduce the hosts to 83/5 by stumps.

Sachin Baby's unbeaten 112 rescued Kerala, who reached 245/6 against Odisha.

Left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Vicky Ostwal's four-wicket haul helped Maharashtra dismiss Jharkhand for 169, with the hosts closing on 85/3 in Pune.

In Elite Group D, Mumbai bowled out Himachal Pradesh for 140 at Bilaspur and reached 107/2 by stumps, trailing by just 33 runs.

At the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh (4/34) and left-arm spinner-captain R Sai Kishore (4/40) shared eight wickets as Tamil Nadu bowled out Uttarakhand for 134 in 56.2 overs.

Avneesh Sudha top-scored for Uttarakhand with 54 off 103 balls, including seven fours, while Mayank Mishra contributed a patient 33 off 114 deliveries, striking one four and two sixes.

In reply, Tamil Nadu reached 85/2 in 27 overs at stumps, trailing by 49 runs. N Jagadeesan made 37 off 53 balls, while Pradosh Ranjan Paul remained unbeaten on 37 off 73 deliveries.

Overnight rain and a wet outfield delayed the start in Chennai until 10:30 am, while bad light brought an early end to the day's play at 5:28 pm.

Sachin Yadav's century guided Rajasthan, playing without Manav Suthar, to 247/2 against Railways in Jaipur, while Haryana bowled out Chandigarh for 103 before reaching 139/4 in Lahli to take a first-innings lead.

In the Plate Group, Meghalaya made 325/6 against Manipur, Mizoram reached 331/5 against Nagaland, while Sikkim were 147/1 in reply to Arunachal Pradesh's 121.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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