Rohit, Gill, and Pant miss out, and Siddharth Desai misses a perfect ten; Ravindra Jadeja and Khaleel Ahmed had a terrific game with the ball
Mumbai vs Jammu & Kashmir, Elite, Group A at Mumbai
Rohit Sharma marked his return in the Ranji Trophy, but it was far from satisfactory with just 3 runs off 19 balls, and getting out to a rising delivery. His dismissal had come after Yashasvi Jaiswal, and their team did not do well in their first innings, as it got bowled out for 120.
Nevertheless, Mumbai bowlers gave their team a reason to believe in lessening the gap to under three digits. Rohit has returned for new BCCI guidelines that had emerged in India’s recent test series loss at Australia. It was reported he was not seeking retirement and looking forward to potentially continuing as their test team skipper.
Punjab vs Karnataka, Elite, Group C at Bengaluru
Shubman Gill had a disastrous day with the Bat and as captain of Punjab while batting in Bengaluru. Punjab were bowled out for just 55 runs, and Gill himself was out for 4. The pitch was playing very well for swing and seam bowlers, and Punjab was well and truly behind in the game and needed a strong innings from Gill to salvage a point.
His comeback to domestic cricket was meant to be an opportunity to get his confidence back following a poor outing in Australia, where he scored runs at an average of 17.64 in his last 18 innings outside Asia.
Delhi vs Saurashtra, Elite, Group D at Rajkot
Rishabh Pant made only 1 run before being dismissed by Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, which contributed to Delhi’s collapse against spin in being bowled out for 188 in Rajkot. He was excellent on the turning pitch, claiming his 35th first-class five-wicket haul.
In response, Saurashtra finished the day at 163 for 5, behind by 25 runs. Jadeja led his team by scoring 38 runs. Pujara scored just 6 runs and hasn’t had the best of the season with relatively low scores in previous innings.
Uttarakhand vs Gujarat, Elite, Group B at Ahmedabad
Siddharth Desai, a Gujarat spinner, picked nine wickets in one session against Uttarakhand before the last one was claimed by Vishal Jayswal to leave Desai just shy of a perfect 10. The figures 9 for 36 are the best bowling figures for a player representing Gujarat in first-class cricket and break Jasu Patel’s record, 8 for 21 in 1960-61.
Desai, who debuted with nine wickets against Kerala in 2017-18, has become Gujarat’s leading spinner after Piyush Chawla returned to Uttar Pradesh.
Vidarbha vs Rajasthan, Elite, Group B at Jaipur
Khaleel Ahmed achieved his maiden first-class five-wicket haul eight years after his debut, taking 5 wickets for 37 runs against Vidarbha, including the in-form Karun Nair. This performance highlights his potential for the national team, particularly as selectors seek left-arm seamers after Zaheer Khan’s departure.
This match marked Khaleel’s 17th first-class game, with three played in the current Ranji season and two in the Duleep Trophy, where he took nine wickets at an average of 21.66.
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