Skipper Uday Saharan struck an unbeaten century to rescue Punjab after Shubman Gill’s return to the Ranji Trophy lasted just five balls, while Rinku Singh, Priyansh Arya and Ayush Badoni also notched up centuries on the opening day of the second round of the Ranji Trophy on Sunday. In the Elite Group B clash at the new PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh, Saharan’s unbeaten 106, studded with 13 fours, lifted Punjab to 269/4 against Chhattisgarh. Rinku’s unbeaten 118 off 186 balls, including 11 fours and two sixes, pulled Uttar Pradesh out of trouble before Goa reached 43/0 in 12 overs in reply. Arya, playing his first match of the season, fell one run short of a maiden double century in first-class cricket, while captain Badoni struck an unbeaten 115 to power Delhi to 381/4 against Gujarat.
Gill, playing his first Ranji Trophy match of the season before India’s tour of New Zealand, came in at No. Mandal lured him forward and beat him through the gate to rattle the stumps. Saharan, who captained India to a runners-up finish at the 2024 Men’s U-19 World Cup, used the sweep and slog sweep effectively against Chhattisgarh’s left-arm spin duo of Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Ajay Mandal. 4 but managed just one run. In another Elite Group B fixture, a maiden first-class fifty from Manvanth Kumar led Karnataka’s lower-order resistance as they reached 281/8 after birthday boy Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya had made early inroads for Saurashtra in Alur. At the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh (4/34) and left-arm spinner-captain R Sai Kishore (4/40) shared eight wickets as Tamil Nadu bowled out Uttarakhand for 134 in 56.2 overs. Avneesh Sudha top-scored for Uttarakhand with 54 off 103 balls, including seven fours, while Mayank Mishra contributed a patient 33 off 114 deliveries, striking one four and two sixes.
