Opener Swapnil Gugale (174) struck his maiden first class hundred to help Maharashtra post 312 for six on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group B cricket match against Delhi. Playing only his fourth first class game, 23-year-old Gugale almost batted through the day, facing 243 balls in his stupendous knock, which was embellished with 25 boundaries, including two sixes. While Gugale kept the one end tight, other Maharashtra batsmen struggled to stay on the wicket as the hosts kept losing wickets. It was not until number seven batsman Chirag Khurana (55 batting) joined Gugale that the hosts enjoyed a stable partnership. Not even a single middle-order batsman crossed the 20-run mark and the hosts were struggling at 166 for five. Gugale and Khurana then raised a 106-run stand for the sixth wicket, which was broken when the opener was done in by Manan Sharma. Giving Khurana company at the end of the day was Shrikant Mundhe (16). Delhi's decision to field was not a bad one but it was Gugale who negated the good work done by the bowlers. Brief Scores: Maharashtra 1st innings: 312 for 6 in 90 overs.(Swapnil Gugale 174, Chirag Khurana 55 batting; Sumit Narwal 1/30). Vineet, Bist fight for Rajasthan Vineet Saxena (87) and Chetan Bist (51) saved the day for Rajasthan by striking fighting unbeaten half centuries as the visitors ended the day one at 191 for five against Odisha in their Ranji Trophy Group B cricket match. Brief Scores: Rajasthan: 191 for 5 in 90 overs.(Vineet Saxena 87 batting, Chetan Bist 51 batting; Basant Mohanty 2/37, Deepak Behera 2/35). Yadav traps Saurashtra Harayana's Jayant Yadav bagged seven wickets to bundle out Saurasthra for 238 on the opening day's play only to see the visitors give away the advantage after losing their top three batsmen in the Group B Ranji Trophy contest. Brief Scores: Saurashtra 1st Innings 238 all out in 59.1 overs (Chirag Jani 54 not out, Sagar Jogiyani 49, Sheldon Jackson 46; Jayant Yadav 7-64,Yuzvendra Chahal 2-72) Harayan 1st Innings 74/3 in 36 overs (Rahul Dewan 35; Kamlesh Makvana 2-32). Powar picks five Experienced off-spinner Ramesh Powar picked up a five-wicket haul to help Gujarat bowl out Vidarbha for 236 on day one of their Group B Ranji Trophy contest. At stumps, Vidarbha were 39 for no loss in their first innings. Brief scores: Vidarbha 1st innings: 236 all out in 72 overs (Shalabh Shrivastava not out 95; Ramesh Powar 5/87). Gujarat 1st innings: 39 for no loss in 16 overs.
