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Irani Cup 2016-17, Day 1, tea: Rest of India in command despite Chirag Gandhi’s fifty

Gujarat went into tea at 191 for 5, on Day One of Irani Cup 2016-17 at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

Rest of India continued their command in second session of Day 1 © IANS
Rest of India continued their command in second session of Day 1 © IANS

Gujarat went into tea at 191 for 5, on Day One of Irani Cup 2016-17 at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Gujarat were put on the back foot, dismissing Dhruv Raval at the beginning of the second session. However, Chirag Gandhi and Manpreet Juneja set up a partnership of 109 for the fifth wicket, bringing Gujarat back in the game. Gandhi also got to his fifty in style with a boundary, off 56 deliveries. On the other hand, Juneja missed out on the opportunity by three runs. ROI’s part-time off-spinner Akhil Herwadkar was lucky to grab another crucial wicket of Juneja, breaking the growing partnership.

At the beginning of the second session, Rest of India continued to rule over Gujarat, as Kaul bagged his second wicket (Raval for 39) comfortably caught by Saha.

However, Juneja and Gandhi comfortably batted, as they smashed 16 boundaries to help Gujarat make progress from the early wickets. ROI finally brought Shahbaz Nadeem into the picture, bagging 56 wickets in the recently concluded Ranji season. Although spinners faced tough luck until the second session, they were moving at 2 runs per over.

Live Cricket Updates: Gujarat vs Rest of India, Day 1 of Irani Trophy 2016-17

Meanwhile, Pankaj and Siraj continued their dominance on Gandhi and Juneja, bearing no fruit. Until drinks, Gujarat eased to 145 and crossed the 150-run mark by the 48th over. There was a tinge of drama before heading for tea when running between the wickets became costly for Juneja. Referring to the third umpire, decision went in favour of Gujarat. The final over before tea saw yet another turn. Herwadkar came and bagged a wicket to keep ROI ahead in the race.

After winning their maiden Ranji title after 66 years, Gujarat were hopeful of continuing their success in Irani Cup as well. However, the first session saw Gujarat stuttering with 3 wickets down, as Pankaj along with Kaul picked the big guns Samit Gohel, Priyank Panchal and Parthiv Patel at regular intervals. Panchal and Raval tried to bring steadiness with their 55-run partnership after fall of the first wicket, but was short lived as Pankaj pounced on the opportunity and broke the growing partnership.

Brief scores:

Gujarat  for 4 (Priyank Panchal 30, Dhruv Raval 39, Manpreet Juneja 47, Chirag Gandhi 63*; Pankaj Singh 2 for 56, Siddharth Kaul 2 for 38, Akhil Herwadkar 1 for 1) vs Rest of India

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