Rinku Singh produced a magnificent unbeaten 118 to lift Uttar Pradesh to 202 after an early collapse against Goa in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A encounter on Sunday. Goa reached 43 without losing a wicket at the close of play, trailing by 159 runs.
RANJI TROPHY 2026-27: FULL COVERAGE
This was Rinku’s second hundred of the Ranji Trophy campaign as he showed that he should be a name that can be an option for the Test team in the future. Rinku struck 11 fours and two sixes in a determined innings that held the UP batting line-up together. The hosts, batting first, were rocked early as Abhishek Goswami (5), Aryan Juyal (14) and Karan Sharma (0) fell cheaply to leave them struggling at 33 for three.
Madhav Kaushik provided some stability with 45 off 96 deliveries, but his dismissal at 90 for four left the responsibility firmly on Rinku. The middle and lower order offered limited support, yet the batter ensured UP crossed the 200-run mark before finishing unbeaten as the innings ended at 202 in 71 overs.
Goa leg-spinner Yash Kasvankar led the bowling effort with five wickets for 86 runs from 25 overs. Ruthvik Naik picked up two wickets, while Shubham Tari and Lalit Yadav claimed one apiece.
In another Group A fixture, Baroda reached 77 for three in response to Bihar’s first-innings total of 166. Bihar were dismissed in 53 overs and will aim to make further inroads when play resumes on the second day.
MP LOSE 2 WICKETS AGAINST PUDUCHERRY
Puducherry were bowled out for 177 in 65.2 overs before Madhya Pradesh ended the day at 23 for two from 20 overs. Trailing by 154 runs, MP face the task of rebuilding their innings to avoid conceding a significant first-innings advantage.
J&K POST 260 AGAINST VIDARBHA
Defending champions Jammu and Kashmir managed 260 before being dismissed in 82.5 overs after Vidarbha opted to bowl in their Group A clash. Vidarbha will begin their innings on the second day, aiming to establish a first-innings lead.
Tushar Deshpande led Mumbai’s bowling effort with four wickets to dismiss Himachal Pradesh for 140 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group D encounter on Sunday. Mumbai ended the day at 107 for two after 36 overs, leaving them just 33 runs away from securing a first-innings lead.
Deshpande returned figures of 4/46 as Himachal were bowled out in 39.5 overs. He made an immediate impact, removing opener Shubham Arora for a duck off the first delivery of the match before trapping Nehal Wadhera lbw for eight. Mohit Avasthi dismissed the other opener, Innesh Mahajan, for 11 as Himachal slipped to 22 for three.
Himachal skipper Pukhraj Mann (35), wicketkeeper Vaibhav Kalita (33) and Akash Vasisht (39) attempted to rebuild the innings, but Mumbai’s bowlers kept the pressure on. Sylvester D’Souza chipped in with two wickets for 43 runs as the hosts failed to put up a substantial total.
Mumbai also lost both openers, with Divyaansh Saxena scoring nine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi making 20. Musheer Khan, unbeaten on 34, and captain Siddhesh Lad, on 32 not out, then combined for an unbroken 75-run partnership to put their side in a commanding position.
Deshpande, featuring in his 51st first-class match, is now closing in on the landmark of 150 wickets in the format.
GURJAPNEET, KISHORE PUT TN ON TOP
In Chennai, Gurjapneet Singh and R Sai Kishore picked up four wickets apiece as Tamil Nadu bowled Uttarakhand out for 134 on the first day of their encounter. Gurjapneet returned figures of 4/34, while left-arm spinner Sai Kishore finished with 4/40 as Uttarakhand were dismissed in 56.2 overs.
Avneesh Sudha top-scored with 54, while Mayank Mishra contributed 33, but the rest of the batting line-up struggled against the Tamil Nadu attack.
Tamil Nadu reached 85 for two in reply at stumps, with Narayan Jagadeesan scoring 37 and Pradosh Ranjan Paul remaining unbeaten on 37. The hosts need another 50 runs to move ahead of Uttarakhand’s first-innings total.
GILL FLOPS BUT SAHARAN SHINES
Shubman Gill’s return to Ranji Trophy cricket ended almost as soon as it began, but Punjab captain Uday Saharan stepped up with an unbeaten century to guide the hosts to 269 for four against Chhattisgarh on the opening day of their Elite Group B clash on Sunday.
Gill, featuring in red-ball cricket ahead of India’s tour of New Zealand, managed just one run off five deliveries before Ajay Mandal breached his defence. The left-arm spinner’s delivery came in with the arm to bowl the India captain, leaving Punjab at 68 for three.
Punjab had started positively, with openers Vihaan Malhotra and Harnoor Singh taking the score to 55 without loss. However, their dismissals in quick succession triggered a mini-collapse before Gill’s departure added to the pressure.
Saharan then took charge with a composed 106 not out off 179 balls, striking 13 boundaries. He combined with Prabhsimran Singh, who scored 62 from 133 deliveries, for a crucial 130-run fourth-wicket partnership that revived the innings.
Prabhsimran eventually fell to Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, but Saharan continued to anchor the batting effort. He added an unbeaten 71-run stand for the fifth wicket with Salil Arora, who was batting on 38 at stumps, to put Punjab in a strong position.
MANVANTH RESCUES KARNATAKA AGAINST SAURASHTRA
Karnataka recovered from a precarious position to finish at 281 for eight against Saurashtra in Alur, thanks to an unbeaten 86 from Manvanth Kumar.
Karnataka appeared headed for trouble at 194 for eight before Manvanth and Abhilash Shetty, unbeaten on six, combined for an unbroken 81-run partnership for the ninth wicket. Playing only his second first-class match, Manvanth’s knock proved crucial in helping Karnataka recover from a late collapse against their long-time rivals.
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