Mumbai: Former captain Ajinkya Rahane hit a resolute 159 as Mumbai reached 406 for eight in their first innings on a rain-affected second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match against Chhattisgarh, here on Sunday.
Rahane, who had retired on the first day at the score of 118 due to cramps, came out to bat on the second day and finished at 159 off 303 balls laced with 21 fours. He was dismissed caught behind by Aditya Sarwate (4/103).
Mumbai had resumed their first innings at 251 for five on the second day and only 46 overs were bowled on the second day of the contest here at the BKC Ground.
Akash Anand was batting on 60 (148 balls, 5 fours), accompanied by Tushar Deshpande (4 not out) at stumps.
At the Arun Jaitley Stadium, hosts Delhi left Himachal Pradesh in a spot of bother at 165 for three, leading by another 265 runs in their first innings.
Delhi had posted a huge total of 430 but none of their batters could convert the starts into a big score. Openers Arpit Rana (64), Sanat Sangwan (79) and No 3 Yash Dhull (61) hit fifties at the top while the lower order chipped in as well.
Ayush Doseja made 75, Sumit Mathur struck 51 while Anuj Rawat hit a strokeful 57 off 66 balls with four fours and three sixes as Delhi finished with a big total after resuming play at 306/4 on the second day.
In reply, Himachal Pradesh opener Sidhant Purohit made a watchful 70 off 165 balls with 10 fours but a couple of late wickets in the day put them in some trouble.
Purohit fell to India bowler Navdeep Saini, who also got rid of Ankit Kalsi (20) later on while Ankush Bains (43) fell to Sumit Mathur after a fine 43.
Last year’s quarterfinalists Jammu and Kashmir were in complete command against Rajasthan, who were trailing by another 89 runs in the second innings after slipping to 41/5.
Rajasthan were bowled out for 152 in their reply after J&K posted 282, conceding a lead of 132 runs in the first innings.
In the second innings, Auqib Nabi ran riots in the Rajasthan ranks to return a superb spell of 6-2-5-5 as he left the visitors reeling and putting the game in complete command at the Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar.
In the last Group D game, hosts Puducherry reached 25/1 in reply to Hyderabad’s 435 in the first innings, trailing by 410 runs in the first innings.
Rahul Gahlaut struck 114 while half-centuries from opener Tanmay Agarwal (50), Kodimela Himateja (66) and wicketkeeper-batter Rahul Radesh (81) pushed Hyderabad to a big score in their first essay.
Brief scores:
At Mumbai: Mumbai 406/8 in 130 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 159, Siddhesh Lad 80, Akash Anand 60 not out; Aditya Sarwate 4/103, Ravi Kiran 3/53) vs Chhattisgarh.
At New Delhi: Delhi 430 in 116 overs (Arpit Rana 64, Sanat Sangwan 79, Yash Dhull 61, Ayush Doseja 75, Sumit Mathur 51, Anuj Rawat 57; Vaibhav Arora 4/78, Arpit Guleria 4/106) lead Himachal Pradesh 165/3 in 55 overs (Sidhant Purohit 70; Navdeep Saini 2/20) by 265 runs.
At Srinagar: J&K 282 lead Rajasthan 152 & 41/5 in 20 overs (Deepak Hooda 17 not out; Aaquib Nabi 5/5) by 89 runs.
At Puducherry: Himachal Pradesh 435 in 134.5 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 50, Rahul Gahlaut 114, Kodimela Himateja 66, Rahul Radesh 81; Sagar Udeshi 4/110) by 410 runs.
