The last round of league matches in Ranji Trophy 2024-25 has begun. Here are the highlights from the opening day.
Kohli frenzy sweeps Kotla
More than 15,000 fans on a Thursday caused pandemonium at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in anticipation of watching Virat Kohli bat. They had to settle for simply being able to watch him on the field, but that didn't see to have dimmed their enthusiasm.
They'll go home knowing Kohli's likely to be batting early on Friday as Delhi will resume on 41 for 1 after Railways posted 241. Kohli's presence led to a minor security breach when a fan rushed in to the ground to greet his hero, but was whisked away by the security personnel. As the day progressed, the DDCA summoned extra police personnel apart from their own private security to help manage the large gathering.
Shardul's hat-trick, Rahane's first fifty
At 2 for 6 inside the first four overs, Meghalaya were in danger of being bowled out for the lowest-ever total in Ranji history, but they eventually surpassed Hyderabad's 21 comfortably. But it didn't help their position as far as the match is concerned; Shardul Thakur, who picked up a hat-trick in his second over, finished with 4 for 43 as Meghalaya were bundled out for 86 against Mumbai.
A maiden half-century of the season for Ajinkya Rahane (83 not out) and his unbeaten partnership of 180 with Siddhesh Lad (89*) helped them open up a lead of 127 by stumps with eight wickets remaining.
Rahul, Padikkal make little impact
KL Rahul missed out despite getting off to a start in Bengaluru. Rahul, who batted at No. 3 against Haryana, made 26 before he was out nicking an Anshul Kamboj peach. During his stay, Rahul was largely solid and looking to score, instead of simply occupying the crease.
He had a minor flutter on 9 when an attempted glide to deep third landed to slip on the half-volley. However, when he was dismissed, there was a sense that he had missed out on an opportunity to bat Karnataka into a strong position in what is a must-win game. They ended the day on 267 for 5, with Mayank Agarawal, the captain, top scoring with 91. Devdutt Padikkal too missed out, lbw playing back to a sharp, turning delivery after making 43.
Pujara eyes 67th first-class hundred
Saurashtra's decision to bat first on a turner, in a game they need to win with a bonus point, left them with no option but to try and bat big against Assam. And the top order walked the talk, beginning with openers Harvik Desai (130) and Chirag Jani (80) who put together 146 inside 30 overs.
Then Cheteshwar Pujara, who had endured a lean season outside of the 234 he made against Chhattisgarh, was steadfast against the Assam attack. He remained unbeaten five short of what would be his 67th first-class century as Saurashtra ended on a commanding 361 for 3.
Siraj's cold return
Mohammed Siraj's return to the Ranji setup was far from memorable, even though Hyderabad ended the day in a commanding position. Siraj managed just one wicket in the 18 overs he bowled, but Hyderabad managed to whittle down their deficit to just 100 after bowling Vidarbha out for 190. Siraj's lone scalp - off Harsh Dubey, who top scored with 65 off 46 balls - was a crucial wicket. It came after Dubey hit him for three sixes in an attempt to pocket some crucial lower-order runs. Vidarbha are the only team assured of a quarter-final berth as things stand.
Tamil Nadu's stunning collapse
Tamil Nadu came into their game against Jharkhand knowing even a draw would be enough to make the knockouts, but even that is shaping towards being a herculean task after a frenetic opening day in which 20 wickets fell in Jamshedpur. TN handed the advantage to Jharkhand after being bowled out for 106 to conceding a 79-run lead. Their misery was further compounded by a calf injury to Baba Indrajith that has ruled him out of the rest of the fixture. The day began well as the left-arm spinning duo of Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram picked up six wickets between them to skittle Jharkhand for 185, but there was a major collapse in store as TN lost 8 for 40. Late in the day, they managed to pick up one wicket in the second innings as Jharkhand effectively ended on 84 for 1.