Ranji blog: Wadkar, Dubey star in sensational Vidarbha win

Defiance to the fore.

The final game to be decided this round in Elite Division has turned out to be quite a thriller. MP threw everything the had at Kerala, but couldn't get past the lower order.

Three crucial points takes Kerala to 2nd on the table. And with that we come to the end of this round. Thank you for joining us. Until next week....

The ninth wicket pair of B Aparajith and MD Nidheesh have batted 11 overs. Kerala need 98 more, but they're not going to have enough time to get those. It's about survival to draw the game and pocket three points. As things stand, Kerala are on 18 points and Karnataka 19. Three points courtesy a draw here will take them to 2nd, with 21 points. Haryana top the pool with 26 points.

The only game left to be decided is also proving to be quite a thriller in Trivandrum with Kerala holding on to try and fight for three first innings points. Chasing 363, they were down and out at 47 for 5, but a lower order rearguard has raised hopes of them salvaging first-innings honours.

Jalaj Saxena and Mohammad Azharuddeen first put together 74, before Jalaj fell for 32. Then Azharuddeen and Aditya Sarwate made half-centuries, before Azharuddeen fell for 68. Kerala are currently 238 for 7, and probably need to bat out 30-40 minutes to secure a draw.

Sarwate and B Aparajith are at the crease. Pacer Kuldeep Sen has picked up three wickets while left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya has two.

In a final that has been properly one-sided except for a brief while in the first innings where it appeared as if Nagaland may fight to take the first-innings lead, Goa have won (almost - one day to go) quite comfortably. They've buried Nagaland under a mountain of runs. After pocketing a 60-run lead, Goa made 517 for 7 declared in the second innings to set Nagaland 578. Can Nagaland bat out day 5?

In Jaipur, Vidarbha have bounced back from a corner.

Having conceded a 100-run lead to Rajasthan, they were powered by their crisis-man and captain Akshay Wadkar, whose century led a stodgy batting effort as they declared this morning on 428 for 7. Wadkar was helped ably by Yash Rathod, who made 98, carrying on from an impressive white-ball tournament.

Rajasthan were bowled out for 107 in pursuit of 329, with Harsh Dubey, the left-arm spinner, picking up five wickets to extend his run at the top of the wickets charts.

CSK star Mukesh Choudhary ends up with a maiden first-class five-for as Maharashtra have beaten Baroda by 440 runs in Nashik.

The win comes as a consolation for Maharashtra in what has been a tough season. For Baroda, this throws a spanner in their works as far as a knockouts berth is concerned. They're still placed second in the group but take on Jammu & Kashmir, the current group toppers, in the final game at home. And it's safe to say that will be a must-win for them if they are take all the mathematical possibilities out of the equation

You wondered if Maharashtra delayed their declaration which set up a target of 617 on the final day for Baroda. They lasted all of 36 overs and have been bowled out for 177.

Elsewhere, Railways take first-innings honours against Assam.

Jharkhand beat Chhattisgarh for their first win this season.

In Group C, Uttar Pradesh have trounced Bihar for their first win in six games. The win was setup by their batting group, led by Abhishek Goswami who made 198. Aryan Juyal, the captain, slammed 200 not out and Karan Sharma 118 as they posted 602/3 declared after Bihar posted 248. In the second innings, Bihar were bundled out for 236 to lose by an innings and 118 runs. Bihar are now rooted to the bottom of the group. They next play Kerala in Kerala.

In Group A, Odisha have posted a big win over Meghalaya but it isn't enough to keep them in knockouts contention. They'll likely finish in the mid-table. The game was set up by the old war horse, Govinda Poddar.

It may not be massively consequential as far as a knockouts berth goes, but Hyderabad are within three wickets of beating higher-placed Himachal in Uppal.

The major contributor to this performance has been the batting. Tanmay Agarwal's 177 helped them post a mammoth 565, after which they not only bowled out Himachal for 275 but also enforced the follow-on and need to pick three more wickets. Himachal still trail by 114.

This may come as music to the ears of all Karnataka fans, who will be rooting for an MP win.

Kerala's pursuit of 363 is looking increasingly herculean as they slip to 47 for 5. A big defeat will also mean an affected quotient they'll need to cover up for in the next game.

All the top batters gone. The last recognised pair of Mohammad Azharuddeen and Jalaj Saxena are batting currently.

R Sai Kishore, who is playing in only his third Ranji game this season after being injured earlier in the season, has picked up four wickets in each innings to bowl TN to a massive win over Chandigarh as they extend their domination at the top of Group D. TN are now on 25 points and are almost through to the knockouts. At this stage it's looking like Chandigarh and Saurashtra will be tussling for the second spot from this group.

A draw v Jharkhand will be enough to seal their knockouts berth.

In Nashik, it seemed as if there was a genuine danger of Maharashtra batting longer than they should've. You wondered if they would be giving themselves enough time to secure an outright. Maybe they knew what they were doing. Having declared on 464 for 7 to set Baroda a target of 617, they've picked up two big wickets, including that of the in-form Shashwat Rawat, inside the first hour of play.

Even an outright win is unlikely to do much to their knockouts hopes, but Maharashtra can certainly upset Baroda's apple cart. As things stand, Baroda are in a three-way race for the two knockouts spots with Mumbai and Jammu & Kashmir.

J&K, with their win over Mumbai, are table toppers with 29 points. Baroda are currently on 27, and would want to go up to 28 if they're able to save this game, which is their best-case scenario here. Baroda next play J&K, while Mumbai play Meghalaya. This promises to be an exciting race to the finish line in Group A.

In Group D, TN are charging towards their third win in six matches. This will help them strengthen their knockouts push. Chandigarh's chase of 403 never got the footing it needed to make a pitch. They're currently 133 for 7, having lost four quick wickets. The left-arm spinning duo of Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram have picked up six wickets between them after Vijay Shankar's 150 set up a declaration.

We're nearly an hour into the fourth day and there are a number of big clashes whose results we'll keenly track, beginning with TN v Chandigarh, MP v Kerala among them. Will Vidarbha declare and go for a fifth outright v Rajasthan? Today will also be the day Goa will be officially crowned Plate Champions. Lots to look forward to.

Ravindra Jadeja's 12-for as Saurashtra crush Delhi

Left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai takes 12 as Gujarat trounce Uttarakhand

Gill century not enough as Karnataka beat Punjab with bonus point.

11 years after their first-ever win over Mumbai, J&K pull off a heist again.

Haryana through to quarters as they crush Bengal in their own backyard.

Kerala need 363 to secure a knockouts berth, after Madhya Pradesh, who conceded a slender seven-run lead, have declared their second innings on 369 for 8. Venkatesh Iyer, who came in to bat at No. 8, slammed a quick fire 70-ball 80 not out to build on the foundation laid by Rajat Patidar, who made 92.

In Salem, a 11th first-class hundred from Vijay Shankar has put Tamil Nadu in sight of an outright win over Chandigarh. Having pocketed a 97-run lead, Vijay struck an unbeaten 150 as TN declared their second innings on 306 for 5. Set a target of 403, Chandigarh are currently 43 for 3.

This is Vijay's second hundred of the season.

Chasing 369, Bengal have slumped to 60 for 8 in the second innings in Kalyani. A defeat will definitely end their knockouts hopes. Debutant Ankit Chatterji's 21 is the highest score of the innings so far.

The visiting J&K side has stunned defending champions Mumbai and taken a step closer to a knockout berth by chasing down 205 within two days and two sessions in Mumbai. This was a star-studded Mumbai line-up with the additions of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal but the famed Mumbai batting collapsed twice against a fiery J&K pace attack. On the last day J&K’s batting stuck together despite a flurry of wickets in the middle of the day to chase the total down as conditions eased out for batting.

This is J&K’s second win in Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, repeating their feat of 2014-15 when they had taken down the domestic heavyweights with a four-wicket win by chasing down 237 at Wankhede Stadium.

They've beaten Punjab by an innings and 207 runs to pick up seven points in Bengaluru. It's only their second win in the season, but they're now up to No. 3 in Group C, below Haryana and Kerala.

Haryana are looking good for an outright v Bengal, while Kerala are under the pump against Madhya Pradesh. Lots and lots of possibilities in the group still.

Karnataka next play toppers Haryana in another home game at the Chinnaswamy.

The fight to the knockouts promises to be a fascinating one.

Shubman Gill attempts a pre-meditated paddle off Shreyas Gopal and appears to have smashed it into the pad, but is given lbw by Akshay Thothare. Gill tossed his bat in the air in disgust as he walked off. He indicated bat as he attempted a single, but by then the umpire had already raised the finger.

Vishal Dikshit from BKC: A fan has run onto the field here at the BKC Ground from the square boundary, leading to loud cheers from the sparse crowd that has assembled here. He runs across the field, beyond the pitch from the off side to leg and is headed towards Rohit Sharma at long-on, although the India captain looks unfazed. There's security running in too and chasing him. The fan makes it in time but is grabbed by one, then two and then four security personnel as he exchanges a few words with Rohit. The crowd has come alive now on this hot afternoon. They want more wickets! J&K are just 54 runs away

In Kalyani, Haryana have set Bengal a daunting target after Nishant Sindhu and Himanshu Rana hit 80 and 72 respectively in their second innings total of 336. Fast bowler Suraj Jaiswal, who picked up six wickets in the first innings, ends with 5 for 92 in the second innings. This is a must-win for Bengal if they are to keep their knockouts hopes alive.

Gets there with a gentle tuck into the leg side for a couple.

Got to his first fifty off 119 balls. The next 50 runs have come off just 40 balls. Fourteen fours and three sixes.

Not much of a celebration as he got to the landmark. Quietly took his helmet off and raised his bat to acknowledge the applause of is teammates before taking guard again.

We have a second outright from this round halfway into day three. Yesterday, Jadeja picked up a second straight five-for as Delhi crushed Saurashtra. Today, Gujarat have trounced Uttarakhand by an innings and 28 runs. Siddarth Desai who picked up a nine-wicket haul in the first innings, finishes with three wickets in the second.

The highlight of J&K’s batting before lunch was that they were not taking any unnecessary risks and scoring runs at easy against the loose balls. In the first hour after lunch, both the set batters have, however, stepped out and perished while trying to hit out against Shams Mulani. Shubham Khajoriya first lost his stumps when he charged on 45 and missed his big swing. Mulani could have easily had Abdul Samad too in the same over but the batter’s luck saw one edge fall short of Rahane at slip and a leading edge clear Mulani running backwards. But Mulani struck on the first ball of his next over when Vivrant Sharma, on 38, danced down the pitch and handed a holed out to the long-on fielder at the rope.

J&K are 123 for 3, need another 82 to win and the batters dismissed must be wondering why they gifted those wickets away.

After bringing up his half-century off 119 balls in the very first over after lunch, Shubham Gill has cranked it up. He waltzed down the pitch to loft left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty for a straight six, and in the following over, played one of the most aesthetically pleasing cover drive as Prasidh Krishna overpitched. Some 200 people have come into the ground and are cheering for every Gill boundary, even though they want Karnataka to win. Punjab are 121 for 6, still trailing by 303.

That’s lunch in Mumbai and the hosts are sweating here, not just literally. J&K are chipping away at their target of 205 with their score reading 85 for 1 and both Shubham Khajuria and Vivrant Sharma looking solid in their unbroken stand of 48. Mumbai have tried five bowlers for their 24 overs so far, 14 of those from spinners. They’re trying whatever they can but the J&K batters are playing level-headed and straight-bat shots to score their runs. They’re using soft hands, playing the ball late and not trying anything fancy while trying to find the gaps. The ball is hardly turning and there are no demons in this pitch either. So six points from here and J&K could top the table before the last round.

Shubman Gill is unbeaten on 49, but Punjab have lost four wickets in the session to rapidly slide towards a massive innings defeat.

The passage of play prior to lunch was fascinating as Karnataka went all out to get Gill. Attacking the stumps with a short midwicket in place, they tried to play on Gill's ego. Once, Gill nearly got a leading edge to cover. Then he nearly picked out short midwicket as he failed to keep one low. The idea was to try and have him lbw with the ball reversing.

But there have been some quality strokes in between.

In what is increasingly becoming a race to the finish, Madhya Pradesh have not only resisted Kerala but powered themselves into a position from where they can dream of winning outright.

They conceded a 7-run lead, but it was always a second-innings game from there on. Madhya Pradesh are well placed at 200 for 3, with Rajat Patidar unbeaten on 85. If he gets to three figures, it'll be his 14th first-class century.

After a wicketless first hour, Karnataka have burst through the Punjab line-up for the second time in the match. Yashovardhan Parantap does the damage, picking up two wickets in an over. He first trapped night watcher Jassi Inder Singh with a superb in-ducker, and then had Ramandeep Singh top-edging a pull for a duck. Then Parantap had Sanvir Singh bowled with a wicked in-swinger that beat Sanvir Singh's tentative prod to send the off-stump cartwheeling. Punjab 65/5, forget about how much they're trailing by.

At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Punjab have fought through the first hour unscathed.

Shubman Gill has particularly looked in sparkling form. Two signature shots - staying besides the line to punch through point - are an indication of him seeing the ball well. He's made some subtle changes to his approach. He's meeting the ball a lot closer from a middle-and-off guard rather than trying to stay leg-side of the ball, like he did in the first few overs of play. And this has allowed him a greater degree of control over his strokes outside off.

All said, the challenge has just begun. Abhilash Shetty responds to this by bowling a pearler of a delivery that comes back in from wide of the crease and squares Gill up. Next ball, Gill walks down the pitch and wallops one over long-off and holds his pose for the cameras. A contest is brewing.

Karnataka are so far ahead in the. game that it's now a game of patience. They're still in pole position for an innings win.

Punjab 61/2, still trail Karnataka by 363.

Both overnight batters gone for Mumbai and they fold in no time.

Shardul Thakur’s first in the sixth over and Tanush Kotian shortly after. Shardul had copped another blow on his arm as he was peppered by more short balls, and he had just punched Auqib Nabi for a four through the covers before he handed a straightforward catch to cover on the next ball. Gone for 119 with as many as 18 fours after batting for 247 minutes, that’s 4 hours and 7 minutes.

Vishal Dikshit writes on Shardul's audacious rescue.

All eyes on Shardul Thakur. Can he build on his century and extend's Mumbai's lead?

Can Shubman Gill lead Punjab's fight after they've been buried under a mountain of runs?

And with that, it's time for us to wrap up. Don't forget to catch up on our Ranji highlights from the day, as well as Vishal Dikshit's piece on Shardul Thakur from Mumbai. Look forward to your company on Saturday! Cheers

Shardul, Kotian rescue Mumbai from the pits v J&k

Mukesh, Gurbani help Maharashtra extend domination over Baroda

Rohilla fifty drives Services after Tripura 212

Poddar hits ton as Odisha run Meghalaya ragged

Rajasthan rip out Vidarbha's top three after 100-run lead

Hingrajia, Jaymeet build on Desai's nine-for for Gujarat v Uttarakhand

Kale, Arun Karthik lead Puducherry's fight v Andhra

Tanmay Agarwal hits 177 as Hyderabad bury Himachal under run mountain

Haryana extend lead after Bengal fold cheaply in must-win

Smaran's double-ton puts Karnataka in sight of full points v Punjab

Patidar fifty helps MP open up advantage v Kerala

Goswami 198, Juyal 103 help UP take pole position v Bihar

Ajith Ram's five-for gives TN edge over Chandigarh

Jadeja's 12-for helps Saurashtra crush Delhi; Pant misses out again

Kumar Suraj hits ton as Jharkhand open up lead v Chhattisgarh

Upendra Yadav's 82 helps Railways recover v Assam

At stumps on Day 2 of the plate league final, Nagaland, who were in with a shout of pocketing the first-innings lead from Goa at one stage, finish on 205 for 8. They still trail by 71 runs. Rongsen Jonathan, their captain, top scored with 86.

Vishal from BKC: Shardul Thakur has been battling cramps, fighting the heat and come out to bat under scoreboard pressure but nothing has deterred him from rollicking to a 105-ball century with another sweep, a shot that has fetched him some runs today. He hared across on 99, as if he never knew what cramps were, with his arms aloft, punched the air on reaching the non-striker’s end and then took his time to celebrate. He patiently kept the bat down, took the helmet off and put it down, took his gloves off as well and celebrated with both his arms in the air, a smile as wide as you'll ever see for the dugout and the dressing room, a flying kiss as well.

Along with Tanush Kotian's fifty, Mumbai have gone past 250, the partnership past 150 and the lead towards 170. Mumbai back in the game and how!

Smaran R smashed his maiden first-class double century as Karnataka racked up 475 in their first innings, taking a massive 420-run lead. Smaran's dominance can be gauged by the fact that the next best score in the Karnataka scorecard was Abhinav Manohar's 34. But there were decent contributions all through and Karnataka can now aim for an outright win with over two days to go. Abhilash Shetty was the last player to fall, dismissed by Mayank Markande for 12. It will be a tricky hour and a bit for Shubman Gill and Co to negotiate. Having failed in the first innings, can Gill make amends in the second dig?

From Vishal Dikshit at BKC: Shardul Thakur is Mumbai's crisis man for the second day in a row. First he pulled them out of the pits from 47 from 7 yesterday and today he walked out at 86 for 5 to stitch a consolidating stand with the promising allrounder Tanush Kotian. Mumbai had not even taken the lead when Thakur started batting but that didn't stop him from playing his shots and not buckling under the scoreboard pressure. He might have had the benefit of batting against the old ball, but even when the deliveries weren't poor as such, he went for the cuts and drives on the off side and pulled the short balls handsomely to fetch runs for his team. Two fours in an over off Umar Nazir after tea take him to 48 and in the next over he sweeps left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq to reach a 59-ball half-century, studded with seven fours. Mumbai now lead by 101.

But as soon as that over ends, the Mumbai physio runs out to attend to Thakur suffering from cramps. Thakur is on the ground with his legs stretched straight to the physio's chest and he's back up in a couple of minutes. It's 32 degrees Celsius in Mumbai with some humidity and the city has been seeing an odd day or two of heatwave every fortnight this month, with another more heat expected this weekend.

Namooh Shah further adds: Thakur is only the eighth player in Ranji Trophy to register 50-plus scores in both innings of the match batting at eight or lower since 2006.

5 for 66 in the first innings.

7 for 38 in the second innings.

Delhi have been sent on a tailspin.

Saurashtra have knocked off their 12-run target in 3.1 overs to walk away with a bonus-point victory.

Saurashtra have jumped temporarily to third in Group D, behind TN and Chandigarh who are currently both involved in a dogfight for first-innings points. TN made 301 on the back of a century from teenager Andre Siddarth. Chandigarh are 190 for 6.

Sailed into the 190s by hammering Jassinder Singh, the off spinner, over deep square. Then raced to 199 with a fiery pull to the deep backward square leg boundary. And now brings up a double century with a quick single into the leg side.

It's not been a knock without luck. On 161, he was given a massive reprieve when an edge through to the wicketkeeper wasn't given. There were two streaky boundaries in his 90s, but here he is, having fought through all that to bat Punjab out of the game.

Karnataka are now 416 for 6, the lead approaching 400.

For the second time in the game, Rishabh Pant is out to a Jadeja. Dharmendrasinh in the first innings, Ravindra in the second. He's out for 17 and Delhi are 85 for 5, trailing Saurashtra by 3 runs. Ravindra Jadeja has nine wickets in the match so far.

Rajan Raj, our ESPNCricinfo Hindi correspondent, from Jamshedpur:

For the first time this season, Jharkhand's openers have forged a partnership of 150 runs or more. In a strategic change, Kumar Suraj was paired with Sharandeep Singh for this match. Sharandeep, who made his debut for Jharkhand earlier in the season, has capitalised on the opportunity brilliantly, amassing five half-centuries in his last six innings. It appears that Jharkhand has discovered a promising new opener in Sharandeep. It's a strong response to Chhattisgarh's 230 all out.

Having conceded an 83-run lead, Delhi are tottering at 46 for 4 in the second innings. Rishabh Pant takes strike and reverse-sweeps a boundary off his very first ball. Can he wipe out the deficit and drive Delhi's lead? This is a must-win for both sides. Ravindra Jadeja has picked up three of the four wickets to fall. He has eight wickets in the match and counting.

This time it's umpire Akshay Thothare

Bengal lose their last five wickets for just 25 as they've been bundled out for 125, giving Haryana a 34-run lead.

In Mumbai....

Vishal adds: More drama! Iyer gets a thick edge behind, J&K cebrate again but Iyer stands his ground bcoz he probably expects the umpire to check the low catch by the wk. He's been given out, but Iyer and Rahane are chatting with the umpires before he walks off

In Trivandrum, it’s been a wild tussle. After being bowled out for 160, MP had Kerala slip from 54 for 0 to 62 for 4. Then a 78-run stand between Mohammad Azharuddeen and Salman Nizar appeared to have steadied the innings, but just as they were in line to nudge ahead, Kerala lost both set batters to trigger another collapse. They're 158 for 8 at lunch, still trailing by 2.

In Kalyani, Bengal’s relief at having bowled out Haryana for 159 has dissipated quickly. They’re now 101 for 6 with Wriddhiman Saha, possibly playing in his penultimate first-class match, needing to bail them out of trouble. Bengal need to win this, and the next, to try and make the knockouts.

The worries are piling up for Mumbai after seeing a fifty opening stand between Rohit and Jaiswal. J&K have bounced back now, with three quick wickets as wicketkeeper Hardik Tamore and Jaiswal have also fallen soon after Rohit walked back.

In the over after Rohit’s wicket, Tamore left one from Umar Nazir who got the ball to nip in and hit top of the stumps. And it became three wickets in three overs when a well-set Jaiswal waited on the back foot to cut Yudhvir Singh straight to gully, to fall for 26 off 51. He is livid with himself after seeing the sharp catch taken.

Mumbai slip from a comfortable 54 for 0 to 57 for 3, still trailing by 30 runs.

If you thought Rohit’s dismissal yesterday wasn’t great for such a reputed Test batter, this catch chipped to midwicket won’t make you or him feel any better. He had been watchful for the last 15-20 minutes after racing away to 21 off 11 and had been blocking and leaving the balls with ease.

But in Yudhvir Singjh’s fifth over, the 14th of the innings, Rohit tries to go down the ground, doesn’t middle the length ball at all and gets the inside half of the bat to chip a catch towards midwicket where Abid Mushtaq does extremely well to almost turn around and leap just in time to grab the ball with his right hand. Rohit gone for 28 off 35 with two fours and three sixes.

There is no doubt that Rohit Sharma is struggling for runs, and the approach he is taking to try and get out of this rut is by attacking the J&K bowlers today. Mind you, the new ball is swinging and there’s very good bounce on this pitch at the BKC Ground in Mumbai where a crowd has gathered again to watch Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal open the batting after J&K took a lead of 86 runs.

In his first 11 balls, Rohit has already smashed two sixes and two fours to race to 21 runs. It’s far from the typical Rohit innings you see in the red-ball format. He was quiet only for his first few balls in which he was beaten once by Auqib Nabi. But since then Rohit has made room, charged down and driven in the air with conviction for those four boundaries.

Although, before all that he could have been dismissed for 1 when he had drilled Umar Nazir back in the air but it was struck so hard that the bowler couldn’t hold on with his right hand. And then, Rohit cut loose. He middled a pull over backward square for a six, he made room to slash a short ball outside off to send it flying to deep third for four and made it 14 off the over with another four to the same region.

The most classic shot of the day (so far) came in the next over off Nabi. Rohit was watchful to leave a couple of short-of-length balls outside off that got plenty of bounce and swung in late, and then charged down fearlessly to slam a straight six over long-off.

The 50 of the partnership is up as Mumbai have recovered quite nicely. Can these two wipe out the deficit?

One of Karnataka's big picks from the junior circuit, R Smaran has shown he belongs. On a greenish looking surface where Punjab had been shot out for 55, Smaran has batted with a lot of patience and assuredness to steer Karnataka into a position from where they can hope to pick up a bonus-point victory.

Smaran started the 2023-24 domestic season with a run-glut of a season - his 829 runs, including a century in the final against Uttar Pradesh, helped Karnataka win the CK Nayudu Trophy. And then ahead of this season, he was given the full confidence of the team management across formats.

He played a key role in their win at the Vijay Hazare Trophy last week, and now, in his 8th first-class innings, Smaran brings up three figures for the first time in red-ball cricket. Smaran is classical, an elegant left-hander who has done his time in age-group cricket. Now, he's taken the leap into the first-class level as well.

Karnataka are currently 247 for 4, with their lead approaching 200. Smaran has Abhinav Manohar for company.

In a game that is rattling along at breakneck speed at the Sharad Pawar Academy, 20 wickets have already fallen and we aren't even an hour into play on Day 2. Crucially, Mumbai will be batting in the first hour yet again, like they did yesterday, after Jammu & Kashmir's first innings ends on 206. It means a lead of 86, which is not big enough, but could be handy if they manage to strike early.

Conversely, after being in sharp focus for his missed opportunity yesterday, Rohit Sharma has yet another opportunity to get a solid knock under his belt, to bail Mumbai out of choppy waters along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane and the rest of the crew. Mumbai are defending champs, and they need to win to strengthen their knockouts position as this is a clash against a side that is above them on the points table.

An interesting morning awaits.

And it begins with Bengal in early trouble against Haryana after bowling them out for 157. They’re two down inside the first seven overs with Sumit Kumar picking both wickets. Debutant Ankit Chatterjee has a massive task of fighting through the morning conditions along with the experienced Sudip Gharami. Bengal simply need to win to have their knockout hopes alive, so any lead they get will only go a long way in giving them an advantage.

Thanks for joining us. It's largely been a bowling day across India, but the big story is how some of the big stars missed out. Rohit made 2, Gill 4, Pant 1, but Jadeja picked up a five-for. Here's a quick snapshot of how the day panned across groups

J&K lose seven, but take lead after Mumbai 120 all out

Lower order fights for Maharashtra v Baroda

Services make inroads after delayed start v Tripura

Odisha in pole position against Meghalaya

Rajasthan nudge ahead as Khaleel takes maiden five-for v Vidarbha

Desai takes nine-for studs Gujarat’s domination v Uttarakhand

Tanmay Agarwal hits ton as Hyderabad in control v Himachal

Shaikh Rasheed hits ton to revive Andhra v Puducherry

Jaiswal's six-for gives Bengal control v Haryana

Smaran helps Karnataka build after Punjab 55 all out

Nidheesh five-for studs Kerala's domination over MP

Lokahura century helps Bihar fight v UP

Andre Siddarth ton lifts TN v Chandigarh

Delhi hit back after Jadeja's five-for in Rajkot

Agrim Tiwary 99* rescues Chhattisgarh v Jharkhand

Mumbai will perhaps look back at the opening day of the fixture with a big ‘what if?’ What if they had opted to bowl? What if their batters could have seen off the first 90 minutes? What if the half-chances stuck?

At the end of a crucial Group A fixture, where the jostle for the top two spots is tight, J&K lead Mumbai by 54 with seven wickets in hand. The star-studded Mumbai line-up featuring Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer and Shivam Dube flattered to deceive as they were dismissed for a mere 120. That effort was in large parts thanks to a fighting half-century from Shardul Thakur, his second in this Ranji Trophy.

Umar Nazir and Yudhvir Singh returned four wickets apiece with the former’s incisive new-ball spell undoing Mumbai in the morning. J&K were helped by Shubham Khajuria’s half-century, which helped them wipe off Mumbai’s first-innings score. Shams Mulani and Mohit Awasthi did help them come back towards the end of the day, but could not prevent J&K from inching ahead.

At 21, R Smaran is destined to have a promising future at Karnataka, with him now becoming a vital cog in a revamped middle order that has seen a number of stalwarts either leave or being left out.

Smaran is in his maiden first-class season and his first five games were hardly the kind of returns you want to see from someone of his ability. Seven previous innings in the first half of the season had fetched him 145 runs, but between then and now, he's been a prolific scorer and key part of the Vijay Hazare triumph.

The left-hander has shown plenty of of guts and flair aplenty, in constructing a maiden half-century that has helped Karnataka power ahead after Punjab were bowled out of 55. Karnataka were themselves slightly wobbly when they lost the top three, but Smaran and KL Shrijith have taken the lead well past a 100, with the promise for a lot more against an already weary Punjab attack in conditions that have eased considerably at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

In a game they simply must win to keep their flagging knockout hopes alive, Bengal have made Haryana sweat in Kalyani. The bowlers have justified Anustup Majumdar's decision to make first use of the conditions, as Haryana have been reduced to 157 all out. Barring Ankit Kumar, the captain, who made 57, there's been little else of note from the batters. The wickets have been shared among Mukesh Kumar (2), Suraj Jaiswal (6) and Mohammed Kaif (2).

Bengal have handed a debut to batter Ankit Chatterjee, who comes in after Abhimanyu Easwaran was forced to miss this game with a finger injury that puts him out of action for three weeks at the very least.

S Sudarshanan, who is at BKC and keeping a close eye on proceedings from the J&K-Mumbai game, fills us in. Shubham Khajuria and Yawer Hassan showed Mumbai what they missed early this morning – the virtue of patient, long-form batting. They let the ball come to them, often playing under the eyes and made the Mumbai fast bowlers toil. Khajuria was dropped early in the innings and has made Mumbai pay by batting time. Shivam Dube managed to nick Hassan off just before tea but J&K do not look like they want to let go of an opportunity to bag a first-innings lead in a game Mumbai would want to be ahead. On a hot afternoon, Mumbai were a tad flat in the second session and would want to make inroads in the last session. Their trump card could be spin, expect plenty of overs from Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian.

ESPNcricinfo's expert Cheteshwar Pujara, who was with us during the entire leg of the BGT 2024-25 series hasn't had a great return to the second leg of Ranji Trophy. He fell for just 6 off 21 balls to Delhi captain Ayush Badoni. Apart from the 234 that he scored against Chhatisgarh, Pujara hasn't had great returns this Ranji Trophy season managing scores of 16, 0, 2, 3 and 14. Sheldon Jackson also fell cheaply for 7 off 29, but Harvik Desai has kept Saurashtra going with a half-century. Earlier, Ravindra Jadeja bagged five wickets as Delhi was bowled out for 188.

Khaleel Ahmed made his first-class debut in 2017, and eight years on he's played in just 17 matches. And in his 18th, he finally has a maiden first-class five-for in a big, big game against Vidarbha in Jaipur. Rajasthan have bowled out Vidarbha for 165, as Khaleel finishes with 5 for 37. Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar takes three.

After retiring hurt early in hs innings, Venkatesh Iyer has returned to bat with MP looking to stretch their first innings total. MD Nidheesh, the fast bowler, has run through the batting order to take a five-for on a surface seemingly tailor-made for spin. MP are currently 135 for 8, with Venkatesh and Avesh Khan at the crease.

This match is massively important from a qualification standpoint. With each of the top four in with a chance to make the playoffs, MP, who are near the bottom, can do all of them a favour should they win. Kerala currently top the pool and have a great chance of extending that run at home to secure a knockouts berth.

We're barely two sessions into the game but Karnataka are already into the lead after bowling Punjab out for 55. But Karnataka have lost their openers, Mayank Agarwal and KV Aneesh.

Aneesh was out top-edging a pull to midwicket, while Mayank was given lbw, one he was upset with. May have possibly got some bat, but we don't know clearly if it was bat-pad or the other way round. Devdutt Padikkal has looked extremely pleasing, while R Smaran is looking to dig in as well.

Ravindra Jadeja takes his 35th five-for in first-class cricket upon his Ranji return as Saurashtra have skittled Delhi for 188. Jadeja's haul includes the big wickets of Yash Dhull & Ayush Badoni. The 'other' Jadeja picked up the wicket of Rishabh Pant.

Shardul Thakur has had a mixed bag of a domestic season. He was quite expensive in both the white-ball competitions – the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy – and also did not find takers at the auction for IPL 2025.

On the opening day of the resumption of Ranji Trophy, though, Thakur provided a reminder of his quality that made him a go-to option for India not too long ago. His quality to put up a fight and persevere till the end was on show as he rescued Mumbai from 42 for 6 to help them get to 120 – a score nowhere close to par in sunny conditions in Mumbai but much better than a sub-100 total. He was involved in a 63-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Tanush Kotian, who fell on the second ball after lunch.

Thereon Mumbai crumbled quickly again but not before Thakur hit his second half-century in this Ranji Trophy season. He had made a name as a Test cricketer with such useful lower-order knocks in England and Australia and once again gave a glimpse of the ability that earned him the nickname ‘Lord Thakur’. He hit five fours and two sixes in his 51-run innings that took only 57 balls coming. He was the last batter dismissed – miscuing one to long-on to hand Yudhvir Singh his fourth wicket of the innings.

In Salem, TN's top order has failed to convert strong starts as they're 145 for 4 against Chandigarh.

In need of a revival, they'll need teenager C Andre Siddarth and B Indrajith to stand tall if they're to post a competitive first innings score.

This is a battle of No. 1 and No. 2 in Group D, with TN leading. Chandigarh have three wins to TN's two.

Since making his TNPL debut in July 2024, Andre Siddarth has made the step-up to the Ranji Trophy, scoring four fifties in his first six innings, and to the India Under-19s team besides earning an IPL deal with Chennai Super Kings at the auction last December. Deivarayan Muthu tracks his story.

Mumbai have found an unlikely pair in Shardul Thakur and Tanush Kotian, who see them off to lunch on the opening day here in BKC. They joined forces when Shreyas Iyer fell, leaving Mumbai at 47 for 7.

Yudhvir Singh and Umar Nazir Mir were not making it any easy for Thakur and Kotian with the former surviving a few close lbw calls at the start of his innings. But they not just survived the next 80 minutes but have added a half-century partnership. Thakur has been the attacker, throwing his hands at anything wide. He has hit five fours and a six in his 39-ball 41 while Kotian has looked assured in his unbeaten 26-run knock.

A quiet glove-love and off they walked to a round of applause from the Mumbai dugout. You’d imagine the job is not even half done at this stage but Mumbai will accept this fightback after they were tottering despite winning the toss and batting first.

The left-arm seamer has picked up five of the six Vidarbha wickets to fall on the opening morning in Jaipur. Karun Nair's stodgy resistance ends on 39 as he falls at the stroke of lunch. It's been the perfect morning for Rajasthan in their quest to climb up the mid-table and be in knockouts contention.

Punjab bundled out after being put in to bat. A number of them out playing shots a stalwart like Wasim Jaffer will be extremely disappointed with as head coach. Mind you this is far from being a Chinnaswamy green top in a real sense. V Koushik has picked up four wickets, Abhilash three, Prasidh two.

Desai's 9 for 36 are the best figures by a Gujarat bowler in first-class cricket. The previous best for them were 8 for 21 by Jasubhai Patel in 1960-61. Desai would've become the second bowler in this season alone to pick up all 10 in an innings, after Haryana's Anshul Kamboj.

After Rohit, Gill, Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant joins the list of opening day disappointments in the sixth round of the Ranji Trophy. He's out for 1 of 10 as the Jadejas - Ravindra and Dharmendrasinh - have Delhi in deep trouble at 92 for 4.

Ravindra Jadeja has struck twice early after Delhi opted to bat in Rajkot. Rishabh Pant walks out to bat at No. 5 with Delhi 85/3. A proper contest brewing. Ayush Badoni, the captain, is batting on 24. This is a mid-table clash in Group D with both sides needing a win to keep their knockouts hopes alive.

Mumbai, who have 22 points in five matches, need at least one win to go beyond J&K’s 23 to get into the knockouts of the Ranji Trophy from Group A. With a star-studded line-up consisting of India returnees Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal, as well as Mumbai regulars Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur, Mumbai would have been quietly confident of doing well at the Sharad Pawar Academy, a venue that players generally prefer playing at.

On a cool Mumbai morning – a welcome dip in temperatures in the city following a hot winter week – J&K fast bowlers have looked more at home that the hosts. After Auqib Nabi trapped Jaiswal lbw with a nip-backer, Umar Nazir Mir reaped rewards of bowling with a lot of discipline. Mir bowled back-to-back maidens before dismissing Rohit and then castled Rahane after luring him with a drive.

Shreyas Iyer hit a first-ball six to get going but Mir then changed ends and struck twice. He first had Hardik Tamore miss a flick to get him lbw and then had Dube caught behind with the slightest of deviations. Having opted to bat first, Mumbai are 42 for 5 after 15 overs, a picture they wouldn’t have wildly dreamt of about an hour ago.

Here's S Sudarshanan from BKC:

Rohit Sharma’s return to Ranji Trophy was short-lived; he lasted 19 balls and scored just three. He got off the mark on the first ball he faced against Auqib Nabi but was properly worked over by Umar Nazir, who bowled two successive maidens at India's Test and ODI captain. Rohit was unable to get Nazir's consistent lines outside off away and fell in the sixth over of the game.

Nazir bowled a length delivery on the fifth stump, with a hint of movement away from the right-hand batter. Rohit looked to play his trademark pick-up shot over midwicket but only managed to get a leading edge to the off side. Paras Dogra ran a few yards to his left from mid-off to extra cover, called it loud and clear and pouched it to end Rohit’s stay in the middle.

In Thumba, on what appears a turner with Kerala have picked four spinners, Madhya Pradesh have stumbled to 31 for 3. Among those dismissed is Rajat Patidar for a two-ball duck. Kerala are currently 2nd in Group C and are primed to qualify, MP are second from bottom.

At KL Saini Stadium in Jaipur, Vidarbha have lost two early against Rajasthan as Karun Nair walks in to steady the innings. Vidarbha are the table toppers and are all but through to the knockouts; Rajasthan are fourth but still in the hunt.

He's out for 3 as J&K have Mumbai in trouble early at the Bandra-Kurla Complex grounds. He falls to left-arm seamer Umar Nazir, who kept him tied down with two successive maidens.

Karnataka have struck early as Shubman Gill is among a succession of wickets to fall this morning. Gill made 11, Punjab 14/4 with V Koushik striking twice in one over. The other two wickets have been picked up by left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty, who is playing in only his second first-class game.

Over in Nashik, Ankeet Bawne, the Maharashtra batter, has been handed a one-match suspension for dissent. The decision was communicated to the team ahead of the side’s Ranji Trophy sixth round Group A fixture against Baroda.

With their campaign on the line, Karnataka have chosen to make first use of what appears to be a green-tinged surface against Punjab.

Karnataka, who won the Vijay Hazare Trophy last week, are currently placed fourth with 12 points. Punjab are fifth with 11 points in five games. Both sides simply need to win the two remaining games if they are to keep their knockout hopes alive. But only one of them can make a miraculous entry as things stand.

As I type, I can see Shubman Gill, who is also captaining Punjab today, is taking throw downs. This is a very important game for him. It comes at a time when he's averaging under 20 across 21 innings outside Asia since 2021. With a tour of England coming in the summer, he'll welcome the red-ball challenge.