Pune: Maharashtra made it hard for themselves with missed chances, as they let Baroda off the hook on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy match at the Moti Bagh Stadium on Monday.
At one point, Maharashtra had the home team on the ropes at 70-4, but a combination of missed chances and wayward bowling led to Baroda’s resurgence. Yusuf Pathan, who walked in at No 6, sparkled with better than run-a-ball 99. He combined effectively with Swapnil Singh (79) and share a crucial 160-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Yusuf took the attack to Maharashtra bowlers and was lethal Ashay Palkar, who went for aplenty. Baroda ended the day in a strong position at 322 for 9, with Maharashtra wondering what would have been had they taken their chances. The former India all-rounder was at his attacking best in his 96-ball knock, as he manoeuvred the visitor’s field with an attacking approach, that pegged Maharashtra back further in the day’s play.
Yusuf was ably supported by Swapnil Singh, who played a composed knock of 79, before being dismissed by Rahul Tripathi.
For Maharashtra, who won the toss and asked Baroda to bat-their bowlers were below par on a green track that provided plenty of assistance for the seamers.
Satyajit Bacchav, with his slow-left arm was the most productive batsman for Maharashtra with the figures of 4-81.
Vidarbha meltdown
Defending champions Vidarbha could not make the most of the solid start they got against Karnataka as they ended the day at 245-8 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on Monday. Wasim Jaffer (41) and Ganesh Satish (57) were the only run getters for Vidarbha, as the duo stitched together 85-runs for the third wicket, before Stuart Binny removed Jaffer.
Jagadeesha Suchith then made an impact with an old ball, removing the other half-centurian Satish, before picking up the key wickets of Akshay Wadkar and Aditya Sarawate. Abhimanyu Mithun picked up three wickets for 25 runs, while Suchith too claimed three scalps giving away just 25 runs.
Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar, playing his 100th Ranji Trophy game picked up the wicket of Apoorv Wankhade (12) in the 62nd over of the day. His counterpart, Faiz Fazal, would’ve hoped for a better show by his batsmen on their home soil.
Select Brief scores:
Baroda 322/9 (Yusuf Pathan 99, Swapnil Singh 79, Satyajeet Bachhav 4-81) vs Maharashtra
Vidarbha 245/8: (Wasin Jaffer 41, G Satish 57; Jagadeesha Suchith 3/25, Abhimanyu Mithun 3/32) vs K’taka
Delhi 305/8: (Dhruv Shorey 88, Hiten Dalal 79; Mayank Dagar 3/57) vs
Himachal Pradesh
Bengal 246/4: (Koushik Ghosh 100, Abhimanyu Easwaran 86; Shubham Sharma 1/3) vs Madhya Pradesh
