The second round of the Ranji Trophy began with 10 teams bowled out on the opening day. Bowlers dominated across 19 matches as wickets fell regularly. Rinku Singh stood out with an unbeaten 118 for Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, Tushar Deshpande and Pulkit Narang took key wickets for their respective sides.
The second round of the Ranji Trophy began with the bowlers on top, with 10 teams bowled out on the opening day across 19 matches. Batsmen across teams found the going difficult as wickets fell regularly and several sides struggled to put up big totals, setting up an intriguing second day.
Amid the wickets, though, Rinku Singh stood out, pulling Uttar Pradesh out of trouble with an unbeaten 118.
Deshpande shines for Mumbai
India and Mumbai pacer Tushar Deshpande continued his excellent start to the season, claiming 4/46 in 13.5 overs to help bowl Himachal Pradesh out for 140 in the Group D match in Bilaspur. The pacer, who took a hattrick in the season opener against Chandigarh, dismissed Shubham Arora and Nehal Wadhera to reduce the hosts to 10/2 before returning to remove top-scorer Akash Vasisht for 39 and Aryaman Singh Dhaliwal to give his side the upper hand.
Brief Scores: Himachal Pradesh 140 all out in 39.5 overs (Akash Vasisht 39, Pukhraj Mann 35; Tushar Deshpande 4/46, Sylvester D'Souza 2/43) vs Mumbai 107/2 in 36 overs (Musheer Khan 34 not out, Siddesh Lad 32 not out). Mumbai trail by 33 runs.
Ostwal stars for Maharashtra
Left-arm spinner Vicky Ostwal shone once again for Maharashtra, taking 4/39 to help bowl Jharkhand out for 169 and put his side on top in the Group C match in Pune. Ostwal, who had taken 5/50 in his side's first match of the season against Services, backed up the early damage done by Pradeep Dadhe and Tanay Sanghavi to help bundle Jharkhand out for a modest score.
Brief Scores: Jharkhand 169 all out in 58.2 overs (Robin Minz 38, Manishi Singh 35 not out; Vicky Ostwal 4/39, Pradeep Dadhe 3/35, Tanay Sanghavi 3/56) vs Maharashtra 85/3 in 26 overs (Sachin Dhas 58). Maharashtra trail by 84 runs.
Narang fifer drives Services
Pulkit Narang led Services' attack with a five-wicket haul as Bengal, without Mohammed Shami, were bowled out for 184 in the Group C match in Palam. Narang finished with 5/63, while Abhimanyu Easwaran top-scored for Bengal with 56. Services, however, slipped to 83/5 in reply and trail by 101 runs.
Brief Scores: Bengal 184 all out in 54 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 56, Sudip Gharami 38; Pulkit Narang 5/63, Rahul Singh 3/28, Arjun Sharma 3/68) vs Services 83/5 in 34 overs (Rajat Paliwal 23 not out; Pradipta Pramanik 2/16, Aamir Gani 2/24). Services trail by 101 runs.
Rinku ton rescues UP
Rinku Singh produced a one-man show for Uttar Pradesh, scoring an unbeaten 118 off 186 balls to rescue them after they slipped to 33/3 in their Group A match against Goa in Kanpur. He first put on 58 with Madhav Kaushik, who scored 45, before adding 65 for the last wicket with Vansh Chaudhary to take UP to 202. Rinku hit 11 fours and two sixes for his second successive Ranji century.
Brief Scores: Uttar Pradesh 202 all out in 71 overs (Rinku Singh 118 not out, Madhav Kaushik 45; Yash Kasvankar 5/86) vs Goa 43/0 in 12 overs. Goa trail by 159 runs.