India opener KL Rahul made a promising return to first-class cricket after returning from an injury as he made 76 from 85 balls. Karnataka were boosted by a strong batting show as they reached 345/6 against Team Rajasthan.
Maharashtra quick Anupam Sanklecha was on fire at Eden Gardens as Vidarbha were bowled out for just 59 runs on Sunday.
Group B, Round-up Day 1:
Saurashtra vs Jharkhand: Sau 277/10 (Prerak Mankad 96, Jaydev Shah 51, Ashish Kumar 4/52, Shahbaz Nadeem 3/95) lead Jharkhand 20/0 (Anand Singh 17*, Pratyush Singh 11*) by 248 runs
Saurashtra were looking down the barrel at 38/4 when captain Jaydev Shah and Prerak Mankad came together to rescue the team with a 62-run stand to help them cross the 100-run mark. Mankad looked set for his first first-class century, but missed the mark by four runs as Ashish Kumar (4/52) got through his defence. Shahbaz Nadeem supported him well as Saurashtra’s first innings ended for 277runs. In reply, Jharkhand were 20 for no loss.
Maharashtra vs Vidarbha: Vid 59/10 Shalabh Shrivastava 19, Anupam Sanklecha 7/25) trail Maha 240/3 in 54.6 overs (N S Shaikh 111, Ankit Bawane 75*) by 248 runs
No other batsman barring Shalabh Shrivastava could reach double figures as Vidarbha’s first innings was wrapped up for just 59 runs in only 29 overs. Anupam Sanklecha registered his career-best figures (7/25) as Vidarbha struggled to get a partnership going. They were five down for 51 and lost the remaining five for the addition of just eight runs. Maharashtra are now in a commanding position as they ended day one on 240/3 with a lead of 248 runs.
Karnataka vs Team Rajasthan: Karnataka 345/6 (Ravikumar Samarth 62, KL Rahul 76, Mayank Agarwal 81; Pankaj Singh 1/ 75, Tanvir Mashart Ul-Haq 3/64) vs Rajasthan
Ravikumar Samarth (62), KL Rahul (76) and Mayank Agarwal (81) missed out on centuries but their useful contributions meant Karanataka were in the driver’s seat at the end of first day’s play against Team Rajasthan. What should delight the cricketing fraternity is the way KL Rahul batted upon his return from injury. The opener took only 61 balls to get to his half-century as Karnataka raced to the 100-run mark in only 21.3 overs.
Rahul hit 15 boundaries in the 85 balls he faced before being dismissed by left-arm pacer TM Ul-Haq, who also picked the wickets of Robin Uthappa and wicket-keeper CM Gautam
