Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | Plate group - Manipur, Goa and Chandigarh dominate proceedings on Day 1
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Along with the three other Elite groups, Plate group action kicked off in the 2019/20 season of the Ranji Trophy season on Monday. Whilst Meghalaya put up a decent batting display against Nagaland, the proceedings on Day 1 was vastly dominated by Manipur, Goa and Chandigarh, all of who edged ahead.
Puneet Bisht steers Meghalaya to a strong position
Brief scores - Meghalaya 268/9Â (Puneet Bisht 125 &Â Imliwati Lemtur 7/48)
Winning the toss and opting to bowl first on a cold Monday morning, Nagaland, thanks to Imliwati Lemtur, got off to the perfect start reducing Meghalaya for 48-3. However, a sublime 125 from captain and wicket-keeper Puneet Bisht on top of Sanjay Yadav's well-made 61 ensured that the visitors finished the day the happy side on 268/9. Lemtur was the star of the day for the hosts, accounting for 7 of the 9 wickets to fall on Day 1.Â
Rex Singh steals the show on Day 1
Brief Scores - Manipur 255/7 (Chingangbam Singh 89 and Bobby Zothansanga 4/75) lead Mizoram 65 all-out (Taruwar Kohli 34 and Rex Singh 8/22) by 190 runs
Day 1 was all about Rex Singh as the youngster, who famously once took all 10 wickets in an innings in the Cooch Behar Trophy, claimed an 8-wicket haul to help Manipur dismantle Mizoram for just 65 runs. In reply, opener Chingangbam Singh struck a masterful 89, but after a mini-collapse, it was Rex Singh once again to the rescue as the youngster compiled an unbeaten 58 to ensure that his team Manipur took a monstrous 190-run lead at stumps on Day 1.
Sikkim stutter to hand Goa the initiative
Brief scores - Goa 124/3 (Smit Patel 53 and Iqbal Abdulla 1/17) trail Sikkim 136 all-out (Lee Yong Lepcha 56 and Darshan Misal 2/12) by 12 runs
Sikkim had a nightmarish start to their 2019/20 Ranji Trophy campaign as within no time, the Ashish Thapa-led team were reduced to 61-7. A fine lower-order knock of 56 from Lee Yong Lepcha helped them crawl to a below-par total of 136, something that was never going to be enough a good batting wicket. Goa, despite losing two early wickets, were guided back on track by a 73-run partnership between Smit Patel and captain Amit Verma, ensuring they finished Day 1 on 124, just 12 runs shy of the visitors.
Arslan Khan, Shivam Bhambri and Shreshth Nirmohi blow A.P out of the parkÂ
Brief Scores - Chandigarh 236/1 (Arslan Khan 119* Akhilesh Sahani 1/80) lead Arunachal Pradesh 147 all-out (Techi Neri 45 and Shresth Nirmohi 5/26) by 89 runs
In what was one of the more one-sided matches on Day 1, the Manan Vohra-led Chandigarh side outclassed visitors A.P in every aspect to build a huge 89-run lead at the end of Day 1. The stars of the day for them were right-arm bowler Shresth Nirmohi, who claimed a 5-wicket haul with the ball and openers Arslan Khan and Shivam Bhambri, both of who struck centuries. Techi Neri, who scored a 45, was the only shining light for Arunachal Pradesh.
Spinners hand Puducherry the upper hand at the end of Day 1
Brief Scores - Puducherry 62-0 (Subramanian Anand 39 and Shivam Kumar 0/3) trail Bihar 173 all-out (Shasheem Rathour 31 and Sagar Udeshi 6/50) by 111 runs
The Ashutosh Aman-led Bihar side would be kicking themselves as despite 8 batsmen getting to double-digit scores, none bar Shasheem Rathour was able to cross the 30-run mark. Left-arm spinner Sagar Udeshi was the star for the hosts, claiming a 5-wicket haul and their openers Subramanian Anand and S Karthik (wk) got through the day unscathed to ensure that Puducherry would enter Day 2 111 runs behind with all 10 wickets in hand left.Â
