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The Indian bowlers may have been made to strive hard for wickets by the Kiwis in Hyderabad.

Bowlers day out

The Indian bowlers may have been made to strive hard for wickets by the Kiwis in Hyderabad,but Friday proved to be a rather fruitful day for bowlers plying their trade in the Ranji Trophy. Vidarbha paceman Umesh Yadav and young Baroda left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt,who spun his team to an innings-victory against Haryana,were easily the star-performers,ending up with seven-wicket hauls for their respective teams. Fast bowlers RP Singh from Uttar Pradesh and TP Sudhindra from Madhya Pradesh,meanwhile,picked up six wickets apiece. Not to forget veteran Railways skipper Murali Kartiks 5/66 in 35 overs against Assam and Jammu amp; Kashmir captain Abid Nabis fifer against Goa.

Second coming

Mohnish Parmar first made headlines not only for the similarity of his bowling action to that of Muttiah Muralitharan but also for his ability to pick up wickets. But the 22-year-old Gujarat spinner seemed to lose both once his action came under the scanner leading to his suspension. Parmar played a single game last season with a distinctly reformed action,going wicketless. And playing his first game this season against Saurashtra at Surat,Parmar,who was the last bowler used by skipper Parthiv Patel,ended up with figures of 1/40 in six overs in the first innings. But with two quick wickets late on the third day,he might have done his own confidence a world of good.

Delhi in strong position

Elsewhere,another off-spinner with a suspect action,Delhis Yogesh Nagar,was handed only three overs against Tamil Nadu,but the visitors did manage to grab the crucial first-innings lead at Chennai. Nagars contribution with the bat late on the third day,when he shared a 59-run stand with Shikhar Dhawan as night-watchman,however,proved handy for Delhi,who will be looking for a sizable lead. Tamil Nadus aspirations,meanwhile,will rest heavily on an off-spinner with a rather error-free bowling action,R Ashwin,who snared two late scalps to add to his five-wicket haul in the first innings.

Chahar goes wicket-less

The unrelenting law of averages which almost unerringly haunts all cricketers finally caught up with dream debutant Deepak Chahar as the 18-year-old Rajasthan pacer went wicketless throughout a day for the first time in his nascent first-class career. Till now,Chahars wicket-count on the first four days since debut against Hyderabad last week had been: eight,four,one and four,in that order. Though the youngster got only a single over on Friday against Goa,considering the remarkable run he has begun with,six balls should have probably been good enough.

ICL returnees shine

Less than two years ago,Monish Mishra and Taduri Prakash Chandra Sudhindra were key players for Delhi Giants in the rebel Indian Cricket League ICL. Since then,accepting the BCCIs amnesty and returning to the fold,the duo have carried similar responsibilities for Madhya Pradesh. The pair fashioned an innings victory against Tripura within three days at Gwalior with Mishra scoring a career-best 154 not out and Sudhindra,with his six-wicket haul in the second innings,taking his maiden ten-wicket match haul.