Bahutule restricts Maharashtra

A fine spell by leg spinner Sairaj Bahutule (five for 69) helped former Ranji champions Mumbai restrict Maharashtra to 216 all out off 83.2 overs in their first innings, on the opening day of the four-day West Zone Ranji Trophy cricket league match at the MIG Club in Bombay on Thursday.

In reply, the hosts had made 31 for no loss off eight overs, with Vinayak Mane batting on 15 and wicketkeeper Sameer Dighe batting on 14 at draw of stumps.

Maharashtra won the toss in the morning and decided to bat first. They were straightaway in trouble, losing opening batsman Niranjan Godbole (3) and skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar (1) with just six runs on the board.

Godbole was caught by skipper Sameer Dighe behind the stumps off newball bowler Avishkar Salvi while Kanitkar was trapped leg before by former India medium pacer Paras Mhambrey, who picked three wickets for 38 runs and provided good support to Bahutule.

With wickets falling at regular intervals, the visitors were helped by two fruitful partnerships. Left-handed opener Dhiraj Jadhav (36 off 177 balls, with four fours) and middle order batsman Kaushik Aphale (51 off 86 balls, with six fours and a six) added 61 runs for the fourth wicket after their side had slumped to 41 for three.

The next important partnership was between tailenders Anand Yalvigi (43 off 53 balls including six fours and a six) and left hander Mandar Dalvi (unbeaten 25 off 54 balls with four fours) for the ninth wicket after their side was struggling at 143 for eight.

Pritam Gandhe wrecks UP

Kanpur: Vidarbha spinner Pritam Gandhe returned impressive figures of six wickets for 55 runs as hosts Uttar Pradesh were restricted to 210 in their first innings on the opening day of a Central Zone Ranji Trophy league match.

Gandhe bowled a total of 27 overs in three spells during which he ran through the UP batting line-up. UP skipper Gyanendra Pandey, international Mohd Kaif and Nasir Ali were the only batsmen who could put up substantial runs on the board.

Pandey made 52, with the help of seven boundaries, while Kaif scored 42. Nasir Ali contributed 32. UP's innings folded in 78.1 overs and 315 minutes.

At close, Vidarbha were 14 for one in reply.

Earlier, UP won the toss and elected to bat but their plans went awry as they lost four wickets in the morning session itself. At the lunch break, UP were struggling at 94 for four.

UP lost another four wickets in the post-lunch session while adding 76 to their total. They were 170 for eight at tea but the last two wickets did well to add 40 runs to their score in the final session of the day.

Sandeep Singh took two wickets for 56 while Atul and Amit claimed a wicket each for Vidarbha.

In reply, Vidarbha too had a shaky start and lost their opener Vivek, who failed to score, early in the innings. At close Amit Deshpande was batting on 11 while Harbade was on two.

Mritunjay Tripathi claimed the only wicket to fall.

Mail Cricket Editor