Ranji Trophy: Mohammed Shami bags 4-30 as Bengal bowl Delhi out for 240

Mohammed Shami claimed four wickets for Bengal against Delhi, while Smaran scored a century on his Karnataka captaincy debut against Andhra. Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten on 72 for Saurashtra, as several other batters recorded centuries across the opening day

New Delhi: India fast bowler Mohammed Shami reminded the national selectors of his capabilities once again, taking a four-wicket haul for Bengal in their opening Group C clash against Delhi at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyani on Sunday.

Shami, who has been overlooked by the Indian selectors despite consistent performances in domestic cricket, took 4-30 in 17.3 overs as Bengal bowled Delhi out for 240. The veteran pacer also bowled nine maiden overs and conceded runs at an economy rate of 1.70, underlining his class once again.

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Other India internationals, Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar, also chipped in with wickets. Akash took 2-74 in 17 overs, while Mukesh claimed 1-43 in 17 overs. Off-spinner Aamir Gani took three wickets for 45 runs, playing a crucial role for Bengal.

Meanwhile, Ravichandran Smaran marked his debut as Karnataka captain with a century against Andhra in a Group B clash at the Dr Gokaraju Liala Gangaaraju ACA Cricket Ground in Vijayawada.

Karnataka were in trouble at 22/4, but Smaran smashed 126 off 218 balls to rescue the team. Wicketkeeper Krishnan Shrijith scored 58, while Madhav Bajaj made 33 as Karnataka posted 274. In reply, Andhra ended the day at 16/2, with Shikhar Shetty and Madhav Bajaj taking a wicket each.

In another Group B fixture, India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten on 72 as Saurashtra reached 308/4 against Chhattisgarh at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. Prerak Mankad was also unbeaten on 92, while opener Chirag Jani had earlier scored 83.

Umesh Yadav took two wickets for Punjab in their fixture against Assam in New Chandigarh, but bad light forced an early end to the day’s play, with Assam at 68/3.

In another Group C match, Jharkhand’s Sikhar Mohan scored 143 as his team ended the opening day at 289/5 against Kerala at Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur.

Gaurav Choudhary scored an unbeaten 121 to guide Odisha to 272/3 against Gujarat in Ahmedabad, while Ankeet Bawne hit a century to help Maharashtra reach 289/5 against Services. Prithvi Shaw also contributed 70.

In Group A, Akshay Wadkar and Yash Rathod scored centuries to help Vidarbha recover from 54/5 and reach 292/5 against Pondicherry.

Jammu and Kashmir pacer Rohit Sharma claimed his maiden five-wicket haul as Madhya Pradesh were bowled out for 196. He was playing his first match in two years.

Baroda ended the day at 204/3 after opener Shivalik Sharma scored 62. Deepak Hooda, who has returned to his former team, remained unbeaten on 38.

Rinku Singh and Madhav Kaushik also scored centuries for Uttar Pradesh against Bihar, lifting their team from 85/3 to 287/3 by stumps.

In Group D, India Test opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for a duck, but Mumbai captain went unbeaten on 80, while Musheer Khan scored 65 as Mumbai ended the day at 249/5.

For Haryana, Anshul Kamboj took four wickets to leave Himachal Pradesh at 153/7 at stumps. Meanwhile, Karan Lamba scored 103 as Rajasthan reached 286/4 against Tamil Nadu at the end of the opening day.