New Delhi, Oct 26 — Batting all-rounder Ayush Badoni continued his rich vein of form by hitting a second consecutive hundred, while India off-spinner Saransh Jain’s seven-wicket haul gave Madhya Pradesh firm control on day one of the third-round Ranji Trophy matches on Monday.
Fresh from a career-best 217 against Gujarat, Badoni struck an unbeaten 106 off 122 balls, laced with 11 fours and two sixes, to take Delhi to 309/5 against Jharkhand at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi. Badoni, 26, previously hit 205 against the same opponents in the 2024/25 season.
A chanceless knock, Badoni’s sixth first-class hundred, anchored Delhi’s recovery. He found a reliable ally in all-rounder Sumit Mathur, who was unbeaten on 50, as the pair put together an unbroken 128-run stand for the sixth wicket. Mathur had a lucky escape on 36 when he was caught at long-on, only to be recalled because Anukul Roy had overstepped.
At Holkar Stadium in Indore, Saransh’s 7-40 helped Madhya Pradesh bowl Bihar out for just 99. The hosts, still looking for their first win of the season after two draws, then reached 261/3 with a lead of 162, after bowling out Bihar for 99. Wicketkeeper-batter Saksham Purohit was unbeaten on 113, and his opening partner Yash Dubey made 84.
At the BKC Ground, Mumbai also made a strong start against Haryana at home after being put in to bat first. Angkrish Raghuvanshi made 114 off 180 balls with 13 fours and a six, while Musheer Khan scored 109 off 185 balls with 12 fours and a six. The pair added 208 runs for the second wicket to steer Mumbai to 290/3 at stumps.
Defending champions Jammu and Kashmir, also in search of their first win, were frustrated by Priyanshu Moliya at the Reliance Ground in Vadodara. Moliya’s patient unbeaten 113 lifted Baroda to 259/6 after they had slipped to 197/6 at one stage.
Vidarbha, who have two wins so far, had Goa in trouble at 84/6 after Nachiket Bhute ripped through the top order with four wickets. But Darshan Misal and Yash Kasvankar then struck half-centuries and shared a stand of 104 runs for the seventh wicket to help the visitors reach 204/8. On a rain-hit day, Pondicherry reduced Uttar Pradesh to 67/4.
In Mysuru, Karnataka recovered from a sluggish start to bowl Tripura out for 194 at the SDNR Wadiyar Stadium. The hosts, who sprang a surprise by leaving out pacers Vidwath Kaverappa and Abhilash Shetty to accommodate spinners Shikhar Shetty and Ritesh Bhatkal, failed to make use of the new ball as Tripura moved comfortably to 88/2 in the first session.
Left-arm spinner Shikhar then claimed his third first-class five-wicket haul, while pacer Manvanth Kumar took three. Karnataka lost Mayank Agarwal early and were 10 for one at stumps. At the DVR Ground in Mulapadu, Chhattisgarh’s spinners made full use of a helpful pitch to bowl Andhra out for 231.
Veteran off-spinner Jayant Yadav led the way with 4-75, while Ajay Mandal and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja took three and two wickets respectively. In reply, Chhattisgarh lost Ayush Pandey early when he was run out going for an unnecessary quick single. Captain Anuj Tiwary and Mayank Verma then negotiated the final half-hour to take the visitors to 35/1.
Wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh laid the foundation with 81 off 126 balls, hitting nine fours and a six, while fifties from Salil Arora and Ramandeep Singh then guided Punjab to 289/6 against Hyderabad in Secunderabad.
Denish Das made 90 off 165 balls, with 14 fours, to take Assam to 235/6 against Saurashtra in Rajkot. For the hosts, veteran pacer Jaydev Unadkat picked up three wickets, while Ravindra Jadeja and Arth Yadav took one wicket each.
In Thiruvananthapuram, where only 50 overs were possible due to rain, Kerala reduced Bengal to 172/6, with Aditya Sarwate taking three wickets and Nedumankuzhy Basil two scalps.
Maharashtra bowled out Gujarat for 233 in Pune, with Siddhesh Veer taking four wickets, while Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Vicky Ostwal claimed three apiece. Maharashtra were 24/1 when stumps were called. Services off-spinner Pulkit Narang returned 6-47, his second five-wicket haul of the season, to bowl Odisha out for 194 in Bhubaneswar. The visitors were 13/0 at stumps.
Tamil Nadu bowled out Railways for 184 in Chennai, with R Sai Kishore and Sonu Yadav taking three wickets each, but slipped to 71/3 till stumps arrived. Devendra Singh Bora’s six-wicket haul helped Uttarakhand dismiss Rajasthan for 272 in Dehradun despite skipper Kartik Sharma’s 73. Uttarakhand were 18/0 at stumps.
Centuries from Arjun Azad and Nehal Pajni powered Chandigarh past 350 for the loss of three wickets against Himachal Pradesh. In the Plate group, Meghalaya’s Ajay Duhan (167) and Kishan Lyngdoh (144) shared an unbroken 308-run stand for the second wicket as their side piled up 385/2 against Mizoram in Nadiad.
Duhan hit 20 fours and four sixes, while Lyngdoh struck 18 boundaries. Lamabam Ajay’s four-wicket haul helped Manipur bowl Arunachal Pradesh out for 111 in Ahmedabad. Fifties from Karnajit Yumnam and Pheiroijam Jotin then took Manipur to 165/5, with a lead of 54 runs.