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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 match in Raipur on Friday. The 24-year-old, who captained the 2018 U-19 World Cup-winning team, hit 18 boundaries and three sixes in his total of 159 off 185 deliveries.
The opener reached three figures before lunch and in the process became the first Indian to score two centuries in the opening session of the first day of a first-class cricket match.
He had achieved a similar feat against Assam en route to his 379 off 383 balls, 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-time Ranji champions ended the day on 310/4.
With four wins and one loss in five matches, Mumbai leads the Group B standings, five points ahead of Andhra.
Shaw returned to competitive cricket after a six-month injury layoff in Mumbai’s final round Ranji match against Bengal at Eden Gardens. He scored 35 in his comeback in a match that 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 Championship. His last appearance for India was in July 2021.
Shaw suffered a knee injury during a season at County in August, underwent surgery in London and completed three months of rehabilitation.
He was recently discharged by the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru after an aptitude test.
He had a successful previous Ranji Trophy season when he amassed 595 runs in 10 innings.
But he had a woeful IPL season scoring 106 runs in eight innings and lost his place in the Delhi Capitals XI.
Kerala dominates against Bengal
Sachin Baby scored an unbeaten 110 not out off 220 balls in a 153-run unbroken partnership with Akshay Chandran (76 not out) to take Kerala to safety against Bengal.
At 112 for four, the duo built a strong stand, frustrating the Bengal bowlers and helping Kerala end the day at 265/4 after 90 overs.
Opting to bat, Kerala lost Rohan Kunnummal after a quickfire 19. It was followed by a steady 40 from Jalaj Saxena.
However, Bengal’s bowlers – Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Akash Deep, Ankit Mishra and Shahbaz Ahmed – made crucial breakthroughs before Sachin Baby and Chandran took the momentum.
Brief Scores Mumbai 310/4; 86 overs (Prithvi Shaw 159, Bhupen Lalwani 102; Ashish Chouhan 3/84) against Chhattisgarh.
In 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) against Bengal.
In Guwahati: Assam 235/5; 86 overs (Parvej Musaraf 89, Abhishek Thakuri 77 not out; Amod Yadav 2/48, Sakibul Gani 2/44) vs Bihar.
In 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 fine form, making an unbeaten 151, his third Ranji Trophy century this season, as Karnataka reached 288 for 5 on the opening day of their Group C match against Tamil Nadu in Chennai on Friday. Choosing to bat, the visitors lost captain Mayank Agarwal (20) early, with just 35 runs on the board.
Agarwal was making a comeback when he missed the last match against Railways after accidentally consuming a liquid on board a flight that caused a burning sensation in his mouth and throat.
Padikkal then joined forces with opener Ravikumar Samarth (57), building a 132-run partnership for the second wicket and took his team to a position of strength.
The stand broke after Ajith Ram bowled Samarth.
While Karnataka lost the third wicket at 226, Padikkal went from strength to strength and smashed the long-on boundary quite regularly to reach his sixth First-Class ton.
Hardik Raj, unbeaten at 35, accompanies Padikkal on the stumps.
For TN, spinner R Sai Kishore has picked up three wickets so far.
In another draw in Chandigarh, captain Manan Vohra’s excellent knock of 134 acted as cover on an otherwise grueling day for Chandigarh against Tripura.
Opting to bat, the hosts got off to a difficult 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.
Finally, Parvez Sultan broke the stand on 213 by trapping Kaushik in the previous over, followed by Manisankar Murasingh getting rid of Vohra 30 runs later.
Chandigarh finished the day on 282 for six, and for the visitors, Murasingh took two wickets.
In the Group C match in Surat, Railways also had a tough day, finishing on 293 for nine against Goa, with opener Suraj Ahuja (81) and captain Upendra Yadav (91) being the top scorers. The railways were 165 for six at a time.
For Goa, Deepraj Gaonkar starred with a triple.
Meanwhile, in Mohali, Gujarat ended the day with 250 for eight.
The opening pair of Priyank Panchal (77) and Aditya Patel (58) put up a 145-run stand before Siddarth Kaul cleaned up the latter.
The visitors continued to lose 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) v 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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