Smaran’s 126 rescues Karnataka as Shami takes four in Ranji Trophy action
Smaran steadies Karnataka after early collapse
Karnataka captain Smaran Ravichandran scored a determined 126 to pull his side out of trouble against Andhra. Karnataka were reduced to 22 for four after Smaran came in at 9 for three, but he built a 111-run fifth-wicket stand with KL Shrijith, who made 58. Madhav Bajaj then helped add 59 for the eighth wicket as Karnataka were dismissed for 274 in Vijayawada. Andhra lost two wickets in a tense five-over spell before stumps.
Batting recoveries headline the day
Vidarbha recovered from 54 for five against Pondicherry to close the opening day on 300 for five. Yash Rathod made his 11th first-class century and captain Akshay Wadkar his 12th, the pair rebuilding after two wickets fell in the opening over.
Uttar Pradesh also recovered from a difficult position, with Madhav Kaushik (124 not out) and Rinku Singh (109 not out) putting on an unbroken 202 after the side slipped to 85 for three against Bihar. UP ended the day in command.
Jharkhand reached 289 for five against Kerala, led by Shikhar Mohan’s 143 from 196 balls, including 18 fours and two sixes. Utkarsh Singh contributed 71, but Mohan’s dismissal preceded a late loss of four wickets for 29 runs.
In Jaipur, Rajasthan finished on 286 for four against Tamil Nadu. Karan Lamba was unbeaten on 103 and Rohan Rajbhar made 95, with the pair central to two century partnerships. Maharashtra captain Prithvi Shaw set up a strong start against Services with 70, while Ankit Bawne brought up his 25th first-class hundred.
Gourav Choudhary carried his bat for an unbeaten 121 as Odisha reached a position of strength against Gujarat, supported by Sandeep Pattnaik’s 69 not out. Saurashtra closed on 326 for three against Chhattisgarh after Prerak Mankad (92 not out) and Ravindra Jadeja (72 not out) shared an unbroken 157-run stand; opener Chirag Jani had earlier made 83.
Rajasthan’s batting effort was not the only late-day push: Railways were lifted to 278 against Uttarakhand by Vivek Singh’s century and Kunal Yadav’s 34 after they had been 223 for eight. Mumbai reached 249 for five against Chandigarh, with captain Siddhesh Lad unbeaten on 80 and Musheer Khan scoring 65. Rohit Dhanda took three wickets for Chandigarh.
Shami leads Bengal; Hyderabad spinners strike
Mohammed Shami took four for 30 as Bengal bowled Delhi out for 240 in Kalyani. Nine of Shami’s 17.3 overs were maidens, and Hrithik Shokeen top-scored for Delhi with 56 in an innings where the highest partnership was 47.
Hyderabad seized control against Tripura after G Aniketh Reddy returned five for 21. Tripura lost their final seven wickets for just four runs and were dismissed for 121, with Tanay Thyagarajan taking three for 37. Hyderabad ended the day on 121 for four, with Sandip Sarkar claiming all four wickets.
Jammu and Kashmir’s pace attack bowled Madhya Pradesh out for 196. Sunil Kumar took five wickets and Rohit Sharma four, while J&K lost Shubham Khajuria for a duck before close. Haryana also made early inroads against Himachal Pradesh: Anshul Kamboj took four of the seven wickets to fall, leaving Himachal on 153 for seven, with Akash Vasisht unbeaten on 49.
Uttarakhand’s Devendra Bora claimed five wickets and Mayank Mishra three as Railways were dismissed for 278. In Nadiad, Manipur left-arm spinner Kishan Singha took six for 52 to bowl Mizoram out for 183; Jotin Pheiroijam added three wickets, and Manipur closed on 39 for four. Meghalaya’s Ram Gurung took five for 32 as Sikkim were restricted to 245 in Rangpo. Meghalaya negotiated the single over they faced without loss.