India all-rounder Shivam Dube carried his rich recent form into domestic circuit cracking a rapid fifty but Shreyas Gopal’s four-wicket haul ensured that Mumbai were bowled out for 251 on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match against Kerala here on Friday.
Dube hit four fours and two sixes to make 51 off 72 balls and was among the three Mumbai batters to make a fifty, with Bhupen Lalwani (50 off 63 balls, 6x4s) and Tanush Kotian (56 off 105 balls, 6x4s) adding precious runs to their first innings total.
If Lalwani and Dube’s efforts took Mumbai to the 200-run mark, it was Kotian’s rearguard action that extended their total to 250, and it could be vital in the ensuing days.
Dube, who recently bagged the player of the series award in the three-match T20 series against Afghanistan, looked primed for a bigger knock but failed to kick-on.
The Gopal-led Kerala bowling attack kept chipping away with regular breakthroughs, not allowing Mumbai batters to find their feet for a longer haul in the middle, here at the St Xavier’s KCA Cricket Ground.
Gopal was parsimonious while taking 4/28 off 18.4 overs while Basil Thampi (2/41) and Jalaj Saxena (2/80) gave him good support against Mumbai, who are coming off two consecutive outright wins in this season.
At Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, veteran Anustup Majumdar struck a timely 55 not out and his 79-run unbeaten stand for the fifth wicket with Abhishek Porel (47 not out) took Bengal to 206/4 in 73 overs against Chhattisgarh at the end of play.
Majumdar reached 55 from 94 balls with eight fours as Bengal consolidated their position on a cold and cloudy day, having made a shaky start.
Porel cracked six fours and a six to reach 47 from 75 balls.
Openers Sourav Paul (12) perished early while his partner Shreyansh Ghosh, who consumed 111 balls, managed a mere one four and 22 runs.
But Ghosh managed a 51-run second-wicket stand with Sudip Kumar Gharami, who missed his fifty by a whisker, falling for 49 from 81 balls with eight hits to the fence.
At the Jalan Outdoor Stadium in Dibrugarh, Assam took control of their clash against Andhra as they reached 43 for no loss after bundling out the visitors for a mere 188.
Andhra were shot out for a paltry total after collapsing on either side of Shoaib Mohammed Khan’s (63) and Nithish Kumar Reddy’s (49) knocks, who milked 113 runs for the seventh wicket.
Andhra were reduced to 70 for six at one stage with the last game’s centurion Ricky Bhui falling cheaply but Shoaib and Reddy rescued their side to some extent.
Rahul Singh returned took six wickets (6/46) while Mukhtar Hussain and Akash Sengupta claimed two wickets apiece for Assam.
In reply, Rishav Das (18 not out) and Rahul Hazarika (21 not out) made a steady start for the hosts in their first innings.
In the fourth match of the Group B, no action was possible between Uttar Pradesh and Bihar at the Victoria Park Stadium in Meerut due to bad weather.
Brief scores:
At Thiruvananthapuram: Mumbai 251 all out in 78.4 overs (Bhupen Lalwani 50, Shivam Dube 51, Tanush Kotian 56; Shreyas Gopal 4/28) vs Kerala.
At Kolkata: Bengal 206/4 in 73 overs (Sudip Kumar Gharami 49, Anustup Majumdar 55 n.o, Abhishek Porel 47 n.o) vs Chhattisgarh.
At Dibrugarh: Andhra 188 all out in 72.1 overs (Nithish Kumar Reddy 49, Shoaib Mohammed Khan 63; Rahul Singh 6/46) lead Assam 43/0 in 15 overs (Rishav Das 18 n.o, Rahul Hazarika 21 n.o) by 145 runs.
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