Ranji Trophy Semi-Finals Day 1: Bengal on Run Fest after Two Centuries, Mayank salvaging Karnataka

It was a batters-dominated day on the first day of the Ranji Trophy Semi-Finals while bowlers did decently in patches.

Bengal are taking on Madhya Pradesh in Indore while Karnataka are up against Saurashtra in Bengaluru.

Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh:

Bengal chose to bat after winning the toss and made a decent start through Abhimanyu Easwaran and Karan Lal. Despite the starts, Easwaran (27) and Karan (23) departed as MP struck twice in quick succession with Bengal at 51/2. But after that, it was the show of Sudip Gharami and Anustup Majumdar, who toiled with the MP bowling with some outstanding batting display. The pair batted with immense class against a strong MP bowling attack, and stitched a 241 runs partnership for the third wicket. Youngster Sudip scored 112 runs (12 fours, 2 sixes), while veteran Anustup amassed 120 runs (13 fours, 1 six) to provide Bengal with a magnificent platform.

At the flag end of the day, Avesh Khan and Anubhav Agarwal picked up both Anustup and Sudip respectively, as Bengal ended the day on 307/4. Captain Manoj Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed are at the crease.

Sudip Gharami after his hundred against MP (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

Karnataka vs Saurashtra:

Karnataka were put into bat by Saurashtra, and their ploy worked in the first hour. In form batter Ravikumar Samarth (3 off 20 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (9 off 8 balls) fell cheaply as the home side was in a spot of bother with 21/2. The likes of Manish Pandey (7), Nikin Jose (18) also faltered as Karnataka were 112/5 at one stage.

But captain Mayank Agarwal has been their saviour on the day as he is still holding the fort with an unbeaten 110. His inning was devoid of his usual flamboyance, but it was exactly what they needed. Mayank, along with Srinivas Sharath (58*), have added 117 runs for the sixth wicket as Karnataka stand on 229/5 at the end of the day's play. Kushang Patel (2 for 64) was the pick of the bowlers for Saurashtra while Chetan Sakariya and Prerak Mankad picked up one wicket each.