Murali Vijay, R Ashwin flop; Prashant Chopra, Manoj Tiwary shine on Day 1 of Ranji Trophy 2017-18

Ranji Trophy 2017-18 gave a perfect platform to out-of-favour India players to prove their mantle yet again. Many players such as Murali Vijay, Ravichandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma were under the scanner for a variety of reasons. Ranji Trophy is also a medium for selectors to unearth players capable of representing the Indian side. Day One of the 84th season of India’s premier domestic trophy had quite a dull day, as most of the star cricketers failed to impress one and all.

Murali Vijay was a flop in his comeback innings for Tamil Nadu, scoring a mere 4 runs.

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Ravichandran Ashwin, too, could not shine. Fresh from playing County cricket, Ashwin was bowled for 9.

India’s Mr Dependable, Chesteshwar Pujara, had a decent outing in the middle against Haryana. Known as a Ranji mammoth, Pujara fell for a sturdy 35.

Pujara’s new Saurashtra teammate, Robin Uthappa had a forgettable outing for his new side. He fell for run-a-ball 7.

Ravindra Jadeja did not play.

Newly appointed Delhi Ranji captain, Ishant Sharma, led from the front. Unlike his time in Indian Premier League (IPL), Sharma managed to provide his side crucial inroads picking couple of wickets.

Suresh Raina, in his only over for Uttar Pradesh against Railways on Day 1, picked up a wicket of Shivakant Shukla.

Prashant Chopra was undoubtedly the star of the day. He slammed his second First-Class double-century in 215 balls. He went on to surpass his highest First-Class score of 237 runs as well.

Devendra Bundela continued to milk runs season after season. Once again the seasoned campaigner used his cricketing acumen and skills to lure Madhya Pradesh from a tough situation against Baroda. He scored his 52nd First-Class half-century.

Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary scored a gritty 69 to lift his side to a position of strength. Tiwary stitched a healthy stand with Sudip Chatterjee.

After the fall of Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha held forth. He, along with Sudip Chatterjee, thwarted the Services bowlers to put Bengal ahead on Day 1. Saha remained unbeaten on 32 at end of play.