The smog in the national capital not only disrupted traffic and normal life but also affected two Ranji Trophy cricket ties -- Gujarat versus Bengal and Hyderabad versus Tripura -- where the first day's play was called off without a single ball being bowled on Saturday.
Placed on top of the table with 15 points each, the opening day's play between Group A's Gujarat and Bengal at the Ferozeshah Kotla was called off due to poor visibility.
In the same way, the Group C encounter between Hyderabad and Tripura at the Palam ground was also a non-starter due to smog.
In other matches across the country, Baroda suffered a monumental collapse on Saturday against Tamil Nadu in the Group A encounter in Raipur to get bowled out for 93. In reply, Tamil Nadu reached 79/1 with opener Abhinav Mukund unbeaten on 40.
In Mysuru, Railways skipper and leg-spinner Karn Sharma snared three quick wickets in the final session to leave Mumbai reeling at 244/5 in a Group A tie. For the Mumbai side, opener Akhil Herwadkar missed a brilliant century by just four runs while Shreyas Iyer made 70. Suryakumar Yadav was unbeaten on 60 when stumps were drawn for the day.
In Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh rode on debutant Rinku Singh (50), Eklavya Dwivedi (60) and Kuldeep Yadav (62 not out) to reach 300/6 at stumps on the opening day against Punjab in a Group A clash. Medium pacer Shubek Singh Gill took 3-52 for the Punjab side.
In Thiruvananthapuram, riding on stumper Ishan Kishan's unbeaten 162, Jharkhand made a commanding start to reach 359/6 against Delhi in their Group B match. Besides Ishan, Ishank Jaggi (55) and Pratyush Singh (45) were the other notable scorers for Jharkhand after Delhi reduced them to 80/4 at one stage.
In Vadodara, Vidarbha produced a brilliant bowling performance to skittle out a star-studded Karnataka for 267 on the opening day of the Group B tie. Medium pacer Lalit Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for Vidarbha, picking up a maiden five-wicket haul, before a bout of cramps stopped him from wreaking further havoc. In reply, Vidarbha reached 10/0 at stumps.
In Patiala, riding on S.F. Khan's unbeaten 65, Rajasthan reached 249/5 at stumps on the opening day against Odisha in a Group B match. Rajasthan kept losing wickets at regular intervals after Odisha sent them to bat before Khan held the innings with his half century.
In Kolkata, a wet outfield prevented any play on the first day between Group B's Assam and Saurashtra.
In Ranchi, Himachal Pradesh's Mayank Dagar took four wickets while Pankaj Jaiswal chipped in with three as Jammu and Kashmir were restricted for a paltry 162 in a Group C clash. In reply, Himachal were 58/2 at stumps.
In Indore, Services reached 170/3 in their stipulated 90 overs with opener Anshul Gupta scoring 72 runs against Andhra in a Group C tie. At stumps, Shamsher Yadav was batting on 60 with Vikas Yadav (9) giving him company at the other end.
In Cuttack, Chhattisgarh reached 103/2 against Goa after the first day's play of the Group C match which started only after lunch due to a wet outfield. Amandeep Khare (58 not out) and skipper Mohammed Kaif (8 not out) were at the crease after the umpires dislodged the bails, signalling the end of play with just 38.3 overs being bowled.
In Jaipur, middle order batsman Rohit Sharma lifted Haryana to 227/8 with an unbeaten 51 against Kerala in a Group C match. Medium pacers Sandeep Warrier (4/59) and Vinod Kumar (3/37) reduced Haryana to 104 for 6 at one stage before Rohit took his team to some sort of respectability.
--IANS
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