A round-up of the first day’s play of Group C’s sixth-round matches in the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2013
ScorecardAn unbeaten 90 from Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad – his third first-class fifty – helped Assam overcome a shaky start and lift the team to 236 for 8 against Goa in Guwhati.That total had seemed unlikely when the Goa medium-pacer Harshad Hanumant Gadekar – whose second-innings five-for had helped his team seal last round’s match against Tripura – had run through Assam’s top order in the morning to leave them at 68 for 5 in the 31st over. Then Jamaluddin and Gokul Sharma stage a recovery with a sixth-wicket stand of 101. The pair batted out more than 43 overs before Gokul was eventually caught by Amogh Sunil Desai off his own bowling for 46.Jamaluddin however carried on, hitting a total of 14 fours on the day, and added a further 67 runs with the lower order to take Assam into a decent position heading into the second day.
ScorecardManisankar Murasingh’s maiden first-class ton capped off an extremely productive day for Tripura, as they finished strongly at 285 for 2 against Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal.Murasingh struck 13 fours and four sixes during his unbeaten 140, and together with Yogesh Takawale, who made 65, added 188 for the third wicket. Takawale hit six fours during his knock, as the pair batted out almost 52 overs to build on the solid starts provided by their openers Samrat Singha and KB Pawan.Hyderabad captain Akshath Reddy shuffled his pack to try and make a breakthrough, introducing as many as nine bowlers, but only Ravi Kiran and Amol Shinde ended with scalps, in a frustrating day’s play for the hosts.
ScorecardMedium-pacers Samad Fallah and Shrikant Mundhe picked up seven wickets between them to skittle Jammu & Kashmir out for 85, before a fifty from Harshad Khadiwale helped Maharashtra take firm control of the match in Pune.J&K, put in to bat, failed to get going in their innings, as only four batsmen managed to reach double digits. Ram Dayal, with 18, was the team’s top-scorer at No.9, as Fallah and Mundhe ran through their line-up in less than 30 overs. Fallah finished with 4 for 32, while Mundhe took 3 for 21.Maharashtra lost Vijay Zol for 23 in the 14th over, but recovered with a 119-run partnership for the second wicket between Khadiwale and Sangram Dilp Atitkar, who chipped in with 62. Atitkar looked to be heading towards his fourth first-class hundred, but was caught off Samiullah Beigh in the 49th over.Nonetheless, Khadiwale carried on and made his way to an unbeaten 79, as the hosts ended at 185 for 2, with a lead of 100 to carry into day two.
ScorecardVishal Bhatia, the left-arm spinner, took a five-wicket haul to restrict Kerala to a small total before Bipul Sharma struck a spirited half-century to help Himachal Pradesh score some vital psychological points at the end of an eventful first day in Kannur. Although Himachal still trail by 50 with five wickets down, they would believe they now hold the edge on a tailor-made pitch for the spinners.Click here to read the full report.