Ranji Trophy 2015, Group A: Manan Sharma shines among stars with five-wicket haul

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Put into bat at Feroz Shah Kotla, Haryana were kept in check from the very start as pace spearhead Ishant Sharma (2-29) provided the early breakthrough and wickets kept coming in for the hosts.

Visiting skipper Sehwag (37) though enjoyed his outing at his once home venue when the swashbuckler started to teach the Delhi boys a tough lesson only to be run out in a disappointing fashion.

Showing glimpses of his vintage self, Sehwag belted the ball all around the park, hitting 5 fours and a six in his 61-ball stay.

His two trademark cuts in and a six off Manan were a treat for the handful of vociferous supporters that cheered their favourite player from the first-tier balcony above the sight screen.

The entertainment though was short-lived as Sehwag ran himself out when he was unable to drag his bat at the non-strikers end and Ishant did not miss the furniture.

The 24-year-old Manan (5-57) then spun into action to help reduce the visitors to 85 for five.

The Haryana and middle-order then got together to try and bring some respectability to the score as wicketkeeper batsman Nitin Saini and Jayant Yadav made 32 and 41 respectively.

Manan accounted for both the wickets and that of Harshal Patel (8) to bag his third fifer in first-class cricket.

“It is a wicket where you have to keep the batsman in check. The batsman will always think that he can score runs on this wicket, but it is the bowlers job to use the slowness of the track to his advantage,” Manan said after the day’s play.

“It was an honour to bowl to Sehwag in a match. I have bowled a lot to him in the nets. It is very difficult to contain him, he never gives the spinners a chance if he gets going. I just to tried to keep it simple against him and bowl in the corridor,” he added.

Brief Scores: Haryana 195 all out in 78.1 overs (Virender Sehwag 37, Nitin Saini 32, Jayant Yadav 41; Manan Sharma 5-57, Ishant Sharma 2-29) Delhi 22/0 in 9 overs (Unmukt Chand 9 not out, Gautam Gambhir 13 not out; Harshal Patel 0-11)

Pandey cracks ton, Karnataka start well against Vidarbha

Manish Pandey (104) led the defending champions with a superb century as Karnataka ended the day one of their Ranji Trophy match against Vidarbha at a decent 298 for six, in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Sent into bat, Karnataka batsmen held the fort for most part of the day but lost three quick wickets in the last session.

Rajasthan 102/3 in rain-hit clash against Bengal

Rajasthan were treading cautiously at 102 for three before rain played spoilsport on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group A cricket clash against Bengal here today.

The visitors faced 43.2 overs before heavens opened up at the Eden Gardens. Vineet Saxena was unbeaten on 31 with Puneet Yadav who was yet to open his account when the day’s proceedings were called off.

Brief Scores: Rajasthan 102/3; 43.2 overs (Ashok Maneria 40, Vineet Saxena 31 batting; Pragyan Ojha 2/24) vs Bengal.

Mohanty fifer helps Odisha skittle out Assam for 92

Odisha pace spearhead Basant Mohanty bagged a five-wicket haul to help skittle out Assam for 92, but the hosts were also in trouble after losing five wickets on the opening day of the Group A Ranji Trophy cricket encounter here today.

Put into bat on what seems a perfect bowling track at the Barabati Stadium, Mohanty wrecked havoc in the visiting camp, but soon the hosts found themselves in trouble at 52 for five at stumps. The Biplab Samantray-led side still trail by 40 runs.

Brief Scores: Assam 92 all out in 52.4 overs (Amit Verma 20, Tarjinder Singh 17; Basant Mohanty 5-24, Suryakant Pradhan 2-33, Alok Chandra Sahoo 2-18) Odisha 52/5 in 32 overs (Natraj Behera 23; Krishna Das 4-5, Arup Das 1-33)