Ranji Trophy: Sachin Tendulkar fails,Mohit Sharma delivers

Mumbai trailed by 34 runs with three full days to go.

The retiring Tendulkar gave the inhabitant of this village a sudden sense of anti-climax as he failed to let his bat do the talking after being bowled for a mere five runs by the 25-year-old Mohit,in what is being seen as the biggest of all matches in Ranji8217;s opening fixtures.

Having top-scored with a invaluable 49 in Haryana8217;s pathetic first-innings display,Mohit emerged as the day8217;s one of the two most impressive performers,the other being Mumbai8217;s Abhishek Nayar,who picked up four wickets.

Ajinkya Rahane and nightwatchman Dhawal Kulkarni were batting on 44 and 1,respectively,when the stumps were drawn.

40-time defending champions Mumbai had earlier kicked off their campaign in earnest as they bundled out Haryana at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium.

With the red cherry,Nayar was the star of the day for Mumbai as he bowled his accurate medium pacers to good effect,returning impressive figures of four for 38. Nayar contributed with 24 with the bat on a wicket that seemed to have helped the seamers quite a bit.

The cynosure of all eyes,Tendulkar,who is playing in his last Ranji match having already announced retired from international cricket,stunned the packed crowd when he was bowled by Mohit.

It was a good length delivery that pitched on off and nipped back,but the bounce was what did Tendulkar in as he leaned forward to defend before the ball went through touching his elbow on the way.

For the young Mohit,he would never like to forget this moment as the pacer got the wicket of modern cricket8217;s greatest batsman amid huge expectations from the veteran.

The characteristic straight driven four to get off the mark from Tendulkar did excite the crowd,but the joy was short-lived.

All of a sudden the crowd went silent and it was back to a normal competitive cricket match in the country8217;s premier domestic tournament.

Mumbai though,went about the task in a quiet manner with Rahane and Nayar stitching together a handy 56-run partnership for the fourth wicket before the left-hander was sent back by Mohit.

On a wicket that saw 15 wickets tumble on the opening day itself,Rahane showed composure during his stay at the crease,finding the fence eight times in between running the ones and twos.

On their part,the Haryana bowlers especially Mohit,did well to give Mumbai a bit of a jolt initially after being bowled out for a small total themselves.

The hosts8217; innings started on an inauspicious note with wicketkeeper-batsman Nitin Saini going back to dressing room after a run-out.

Mumbai chipped in with Haryana8217;s wickets at regular intervals with Nayar doing the bulk of damage. The most sought-after wicket,if not the most important,was however snared by medium pacer Javed Khan when he dismissed comeback man and former India opener Ajay Jadeja.

Zaheer,seeking to return to the Indian team,bowled 10 overs for the lone wicket of Sunny Singh.

Harbhajan takes six to dismiss Odisha for 205

Eager to make a comeback to the national team,Punjab skipper Harbhajan Singh returned with a sensational six-wicket haul to skittle out Odisha for 205 in their first innings on the opening day of a Group A Ranji Trophy match in Mohali.

Harbhajan produced a brilliant display of spin bowling to return with figures of 28.2-12-54-6 at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali.

Aparajith shines on opening day

An unbeaten hundred by Baba Aparajith and a half century from veteran S Badrinath guided Tamil Nadu to a strong position as they made 220 for three against Services on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match.

Aparajith was at the crease on 109 along with Dinesh Karthik 11 when the stumps were drawn at the Palam ground in New Delhi after Tamil Nadu opted to bat first.

Advantage Gujarat on Day 1

Riding on brilliant bowling by Rush Kalaria 5/32 and Jasprit Bumrah 4/30,Gujarat bundled out Vidarbha for a paltry 85 and then themselves reached a comfortable 153 for three at stumps on day one of a Ranji Trophy Group A match in Nagpur on Sunday.

Electing to field,Gujarat medium pacers wreaked havoc to wrap up the hosts for less than 100 runs in their first innings.

Saurashtra 226/2 on first day

An unbeaten century from Sagar Jogiyani enabled Saurashtra reach 226 for two at the end of the first day8217;s play of their Ranji Trophy Group B match against Rajasthan in Rajkot.

At stumps,Jogiyani was not out on 114 288b,15X4 and giving him company at the other end was Jaydev Shah on 16 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium at Khandheri.

Choudhary8217;s 127 help MP reach 282-3

Opener Satyam Choudhary scored an unbeaten century to help Madhya Pradesh reach 282 for three in their first innings against Railways on the opening day of a Group B Ranji Trophy match in Indore.

Choudhary scored 19 boundaries in his 281-ball unfinished innings at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. Mohnish Mishra cracked 97 in his 146-ball innings,which was studded with 14 fours and three sixes.