Modest start by Gujarat

AHMEDABAD, Dec 28: Life for a hardcore Gujarat cricket fan could be pretty demanding. He should learn to take humiliation in his stride a...

AHMEDABAD, Dec 28: Life for a hardcore Gujarat cricket fan could be pretty demanding. He should learn to take humiliation in his stride and in case of a minor disaster, it should be a thing to celebrate. At stumps on the opening day for their four-day West Zone Ranji Trophy match here against Saurashtra, as Gujarat made a modest 231- 8 their fans should be sporting a smile.

After the defeat in the one-dayer on Sunday, when Gujarat skipper Mukund Parmar won the toss and decided to bat on the lifeless track, the hosts expected a new lease of life. In a way it was a new beginning as Amrish Kotecha walked in with Nilesh Modi, who was called in for the longer version.

After the world record of seven straight fours at Mumbai recently, Kotecha is recognised for his turbo starts. He was out of the blocks fast but was caught in a trap. Kotecha hooked two of paceman Narendra Rana’s rising balls to the square leg boundary.

SCOREBOARD

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GUJARAT (1ST INNINGS): Amrish Kotecha c Merchant b Rana 22;Nilesh Modi c & b Parsana 17; Mihir Sheth c Parmar b Parsana 48; Mukund Parmar run out 7; Kirat Damani c Bhambhania b Dhamecha ; Keyur Padia lbw Bhambhania 0; Pathik Patel lbw Bhambhania 10; Vijay Patel not out 16; Bhavin Mehta c Bhatt b Parsana 10; Rakesh Patel not out 15.

Extras: 11 (4b, 11lb, 6nb)

Total: 231 for eight in 90 overs.

Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-58, 3-69, 4-187, 5-187, 6-193, 7-208, 8-223.

Bowling: Garsondia 9-1-23-0, Rana 20-4-68-2 (6nb), Parsana 29-9-63-3, Bhambhania 18-6-30-1, Dhamecha 6-0-22-1, Kotak 8-1-30-0.