Ranji Trophy 2018-19, Elite B round-up Round 2, Day 1: Ricky Bhui’s ton stars for Andhra, Bengal ride on centurion Koushik Ghosh

A round-up of the Elite B Group matches on day one of Round 2 of the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy

Andhra, who took three points in their first round against Punjab, rode on Ricky Bhui s sixth first-class century as they ended day one of Round 2 of the Elite B Group match of the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 season against Kerala at 225/8 on Monday.

Opting to bat at the St. Xavier's KCA Cricket Ground in Trivandrum, Andhra lost their openers Prashanth Kumar and Ashwin Hebbar to fast bowler Basil Thampi inside eight overs. Dwaraka Ravi Teja added 24, before he was caught behind by wicketkeeper Sanju Samson off left-arm spinner KC Akshay.

The 22-year-old Bhui then took the onus of run-scoring and led the attack in a brilliant 205-ball 109, which was decorated with 10 boundaries and one hit over the fence. Bhui was involved in a 92-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Sivacharan Singh (45). The partnership ended with Bhui edging it behind to Samson off Akshay, who emerged as the pick of the bowlers with four for 56 in his 24 overs.

Brief scores: Andhra 225/8 (Ricky Bhui 109; KC Akshay 4/56) versus Kerala

At the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Bengal were bolstered by Koushik Ghosh, who brought up his second first-class century, as the home side ended day one at 246/4 against Madhay Pradesh.

Both teams secured three points from their opening match with the help of securing first innings leads.

Put into bat, Bengal lost opener Abhishek Kumar Raman for 14 after he was caught by Mihir Hirwani off pacer Avesh Khan. Ghosh, in at No. 3, stitched a 136-run partnership with Abhimanyu Easwaran. The partnership ended after Easwaran (86) edged one behind to wicketkeeper Naman Ojha off pacer Kuldeep Sen. Ghosh stuck and reached his century, which was helped by 14 boundaries, but departed immediately after reaching the three-figure mark to Shubham Sharma. Sudip Chatterjeefailed to trouble the scorers after he was trapped lbw off Hirwani.

Brief scores: Bengal 246/4 (Koushik Ghosh 100, Abhimanyu Easwaran 86) versus Madhya Pradesh

At the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi, led by new captain Nitish Rana, were helped to 305/8 against Himachal Pradesh, courtesy Dhruv Shorey s 88 and Hiten Dalal s 79.

Opting to bat, Delhi lost the battle-hardened Gautam Gambhir, who stitched a 96-run stand for the opening wicket with Hiten Dalal, for 44 after he was caught by Priyanshu Khanduri off left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar. Dalal then combined with Shorey as the duo powered their side to the 300-run mark.

Dalal smashed 10 boundaries and three sixes in his 89-ball knock, before he was cleaned up by Prashant Chopra. Rana added just six. Shorey, meanwhile, hung on with wickets falling at the other end, but eventually departed after he was caught by substitute Rahul Sharma off AP Vashisht.

For Himachal, Dagar returned with figures of three for 57 in his 21 overs. Offs-pinner Gurvinder Singh snapped two for 57 in his 17 overs.

Brief scores: Delhi 305/8 (Dhruv Shorey 88, Hiten Dalal 79; Mayank Dagar 3/57) versus Himachal Pradesh

At the ICL Sankar Nagar Ground in Tirunelveli, captain Akshath Reddy s fine 114 helped Hyderabad to 249/3 on the opening day against Tamil Nadu.

Opting to bat, Hyderabad lost opener Tanmay Agarwal for 10 after he edged it wicketkeeper N Jagadeesan off M Mohammed in the sixth over. Rohit Rayudu pottered 13 off 54 before he was caught by B Anirudh Sitaram off Rahil Shah.

Akshath was then involved in a half-century partnership with Himalay Agarwal as the duo steadied the Hyderabad innings. However, Himalay fell to K Vignesh for 29.

Akshath then stitched a huge 136-run partnership with Bavanaka Sandeep. The captain smashed 14 fours and a six during his unbeaten 114, while Sandeep registered 10 boundaries and hit over the fence during his 133-ball 79.

Brief scores: Hyderabad 249/3 (Akshath Reddy 114*, Bavanaka Sandeep 74*) versus Tamil Nadu

At the KIIT Cricket Stadium in Bhubaneshwar, Uttar Pradesh were 42/1, trailing Odisha by 256 runs. Opting to field, Ankit Rajpoot and Yash Dayal snapped three wickets each that helped the home side bundle out Uttar Pradesh for 256. Subhransu Senapati top scored for UP with 87.

Rajpoot had both openers Anurag Sarangi (6) and Sandeep Patnaik (0) back in the hut inside five overs. Senapati and Govinda Poddar (39) then steading the innings, with Poddar striking nine boundaries for his 42-ball 39 before he was caught by Priyam Garg off Yash Dayal. Odisha captain Biplab Samantray, who scored 103 in their previous match against Haryana, added 12 after he was trapped lbw off Akshdeep Nath, who also sent the next batsman Shantanu Mishra for a 10-ball duck.

Senapati departed in the 50^th over after he was caught by Suresh Raina to hand Rajpoot his third wicket. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sujit Lenka s 46 off 98 ensured Odisha cross the 200-run mark.

In reply, Uttar Pradesh lost opener Upendra Yadav for one to Basant Mohanty. Madhav Kaushik (16*) and Mohamad Saif were batting were stumps were drawn.