Ranji Trophy: Sachin roars back to form; Sehwag, Gambhir miss out
New Delhi: It has been a mixed day for India’s senior players in the Ranji Trophy. While Sachin Tendulkar impressed with a brilliant ton for Mumbai against Railways, India openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir failed to pick up considerable runs.
All eyes were on Tendulkar, who was playing his first Ranji Trophy match since 2009. And he didn't disappoint smashing 137 off 136 balls to take his team to 344 for 4 at stumps on day one. Tendulkar and Ajinkya Rahane, who is yet to play a Test for India, added 200 runs for the third wicket to put Mumbai in the driver’s seat. Rahane was unbeaten on 105. However, Rohit Sharma’s claims for a Test berth took a serious battering when he scored just 18 and fell to a run-out.
Elsewhere, Delhi’s star-studded top order failed to live up to its expectations. Virender Sehwag, who is also under fire for being out of touch for some time now, tried to hang in there against Uttar Pradesh at Ghaziabad, but his plans came a cropper when on 25 (53 balls) he edged his India team-mate Praveen Kumar straight through to the wicketkeeper. Gambhir too had a brief stay when he was trapped lbw by Imtiaz Ahmed with only 32 runs in front of his name. Virat Kohli and new rising star Unmukt Chand too disappointed as the visitors folded for 235.
However, Umesh Yadav, another player certain to play in the first Test in Ahmedabad from November 15, will take a lot of heart from his scorching bowling for Vidarbha against Haryana at Lahli. The fast bowler took 5 for 18 to run through the Haryana batting that bundled out for a paltry 55.
Irfan Pathan, who last played a Test in 2008, drew some attention with a hundred against Karnataka at Vadodara. Earlier in the day, Gujarat skipper Parthiv Patel stroked the first century of the season against Madhya Pradesh. The former India wicketkeeper completed his aggressive ton in 120 balls, including 19 fours, at a strike rate of 83.33.
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