Prithvi Shaw marked a spectacular return to competitive cricket by smashing a century in his second innings for Mumbai to put them on top against Chhattisgarh in their Ranji Trophy Group B fixture in Raipur on Friday. The 24-year-old, who captained the 2018 U-19 World Cup-winning team, struck 18 boundaries and three sixes in his knock of 159 off 185 deliveries.
The opener reached the three-figure before lunch and in the process became the first Indian to score two centuries in the opening session on day one of a first-class cricket match.
He had achieved a similar feat against Assam en route to his 383-ball 379, which was the second-highest Ranji Trophy score of all time.
Shaw’s partnership with Bhupen Lalwani produced a massive opening stand of 244 runs, with the latter contributing 102 runs off 238 balls as the 41-times Ranji champions ended the day at 310/4.
With four wins and one loss from five matches, Mumbai lead the Group B standings, five points clear of Andhra.
Shaw made a comeback to competitive cricket after a six-month injury layoff in Mumbai’s last round Ranji fixture against Bengal at Eden Gardens. He scored 35 in his return in a match Mumbai won by an innings and four runs.
It marked his return to the game after August 13 last year when he played for Northants in the English County Championships. His last appearance for India was in July 2021.
Shaw suffered a knee injury during a county stint in August, underwent surgery in London, and completed three months of rehab.
He was recently cleared by the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru after a fitness test.
He had a successful previous Ranji Trophy season when he amassed 595 runs from 10 innings.
But he had a woeful IPL season with 106 runs from eight innings and lost his spot in the Delhi Capitals XI.
Kerala dominate vs Bengal
Sachin Baby struck an unbeaten 110 not out off 220 balls in an unbroken 153-run partnership with Akshay Chandran (76 not out) to steer Kerala to safety against Bengal.
From 112 for four, the duo built a solid stand, frustrating the Bengal bowlers and helping Kerala finish the day at 265/4 after 90 overs.
Opting to bat, Kerala lost Rohan Kunnummal after a quick 19. It was followed by a steady 40 from Jalaj Saxena.
However, Bengal bowlers — Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Akash Deep, Ankit Mishra and Shahbaz Ahmed — managed to secure crucial breakthroughs before Sachin Baby and Chandran seized the momentum.
Brief Scores Mumbai 310/4; 86 overs (Prithvi Shaw 159, Bhupen Lalwani 102; Ashish Chouhan 3/84) vs Chhattisgarh.
At Thumba: Kerala 265/4; 90 overs (Sachin Baby 110 not out, Akshay Chandran 76 not out; Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 1/40, Akash Deep 1/55) vs Bengal.
At Guwahati: Assam 235/5; 86 overs (Parvej Musaraf 89, Abhishek Thakuri 77 not out; Amod Yadav 2/48, Sakibul Gani 2/44) vs Bihar.
At Vizianagaram: Andhra 236/4; 80 overs (Ricky Bhui 90 not out, KV Sasikanth 72, Karan Shinde 45 not out; Yash Dayal 1/48, Saurabh Kumar 1/65) vs Uttar Pradesh.
Padikkal’s unbeaten 151 helps Karnataka finish 288/5 on Day 1 against TN
Opener Devdutt Padikkal continued his red-hot form, slamming an unbeaten 151, his third Ranji Trophy hundred this season, as Karnataka reached 288 for 5 on the opening day of their Group C match against Tamil Nadu in Chennai on Friday. Electing to bat, the visitors lost skipper Mayank Agarwal (20) early, with just 35 runs on the board.
Agarwal was making his comeback as he missed the last game against Railways after accidentally consuming some liquid on-board a flight that caused burning sensation in his mouth and throat.
Padikkal then joined forces with opener Ravikumar Samarth (57), constructing a 132-run partnership for the second wicket and took their side to a position of strength.
The stand was broken after Ajith Ram knocked over Samarth.
While Karnataka lost the third wicket at 226, Padikkal went strong, clearing the long-on boundary quite regularly to bring up his sixth First-Class ton.
Hardik Raj, unbeaten on 35, is giving company to Padikkal at stumps.
For TN, spinner R Sai Kishore has bagged three wickets so far.
In another tie in Chandigarh, skipper Manan Vohra‘s fine knock of 134 acted as a cover in an otherwise toiling day for Chandigarh against Tripura.
Opting to bat, the hosts were off to a rocky start, losing four wickets for just 34 runs.
However, Vohra and Ankit Kaushik (76) came up with a critical partnership of 169 runs for the fifth wicket to rescue them.
Eventually, Parvez Sultan broke the stand at 213 trapping Kaushik leg-before, followed by Manisankar Murasingh getting rid of Vohra 30 runs later.
Chandigarh finished the day on 282 for six, and for the visitors, Murasingh grabbed two wickets.
In Surat’s Group C contest, Railways also had a rough day, finishing at 293 for nine against Goa, with opener Suraj Ahuja (81) and skipper Upendra Yadav (91) being the top-scorers. Railways were 165 for six at one stage.
For Goa, Deepraj Gaonkar starred with a three-for.
Meanwhile, in Mohali, Gujarat finished the day on 250 for eight.
The opening pair of Priyank Panchal (77) and Aditya Patel (58) assembled a 145-run stand before Siddarth Kaul cleaned up the latter.
Thereon, the visitors kept losing wickets and ended the day on a shaky note.
Kaul and left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh grabbed three wickets each for the hosts.
Brief scores: In Chennai: Karnataka 288/5 (Devdutt Padikkal 151 batting; Sai Kishore 3/94) vs Tamil Nadu.
In Chandigarh: Chandigarh 282/6 (Manan Vohra 134; Manisankar Murasingh 2/42) vs Tripura.
In Surat: Railways 293/9 (Upendra Yadav 91; Deepraj Gaonkar 3/26) vs Goa.
In Mohali: Gujarat 250/8 (Priyank Panchal 77, Aditya Patel 58; Siddarth Kaul 3/64) vs Punjab.
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