Ranji Trophy: Top weapons disappoint on Day 1

For Punjab’s Shubman Gill, it was a golden likelihood to get some runs in opposition to the pink ball earlier than the Edgbaston Test in opposition to England beginning July 1. But he did not capitalise on the chance, managing solely 9 in opposition to Madhya Pradesh on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals.

Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw, each of whom might be nursing hopes of a return to the highest of the Indian batting order, had torrid outings too. Agarwal scored 10 off 41 balls, whereas Shaw managed a flashy 21.

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Gill searching for his off-stump

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In December 2019, the venue was Dhruv Pandove Stadium, Patiala. On the eve of the match, Mohammed Siraj was speaking to his Hyderabad captain Tanmay Agarwal about Gill’s tentativeness in regards to the ball on off- stump.

“Usko off pe daalo maximum ball, wo tentative rehta hai (Bowl the off-stump line to him, he is not comfortable there).” Next day, Siraj took 4 deliveries to dismiss Gill. -length supply on off-stump was edged to wicketkeeper Sumanth Kolla.

Cut to Monday and Puneet Datey, not as fast as Siraj, obtained Gill with the identical size. The solely distinction was this time Gill determined to go away it, just for the ball to hit the seam, nip again and kiss the bails. A clueless Gill stood there for a second earlier than making the stroll again to the pavilion.

Gill had a fantastic IPL season with Gujarat Titans. He amassed 483 runs and guided the franchise to the title of their inaugural season. But it’s within the red-ball format the place his kind has slumped. Since a 91 within the second innings in Brisbane in early 2021, he has managed solely two fifties in his subsequent 13 innings. His weak point in opposition to the transferring ball has compelled the Indian administration to contemplate him within the center order.

Flashy Shaw

It is both increase or bust for Shaw. He performed some eye-catching strokes throughout his transient keep on the crease for Mumbai. Just like his Under-19 teammate Gill, Shaw has chinks within the armour. His tendency to play away from the physique has been a cause for concern. Trent Boult and Tim Southee first discovered that bat-pad hole in Wellington. Next 12 months in Adelaide, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins exploited the identical vulnerability.

On Monday in opposition to Uttarakhand, Shaw dominated proceedings early on however obtained out in the identical vogue. This time the bowler was Deepak Dhapola. A ball nipped again on the stumps, Shaw did not get his bat down in time, and the ball went via the gate.

Troubled Mayank

Agarwal, whom the selectors omitted from the Test squad after a string of poor scores in South Africa, had a torrid time on the crease in opposition to Uttar Pradesh, particularly Shivam Mavi. Agarwal had scored solely 135 runs in six innings with just one half-century in India’s 1-2 Test collection loss in opposition to South Africa.

At the opposite finish, his fellow Karnataka opener Ravikumar Samarth was scoring at a brisk tempo, however Agarwal was discovering it troublesome to barter the Uttar Pradesh tempo trio of Yash Dayal, Ankit Rajpoot and Mavi.

WATCH: R Samarth’s 57-run opening act in opposition to Uttar Pradesh 👍 👍

The Karnataka right-hander creamed 10 fours & scored a stable first-innings half-century in #QF3 of the @Paytm #RanjiTrophy. 👌 👌 #KARvUP

Watch 🎥 🔽https://t.co/S71CGyqPuW pic.twitter.com/9py4ag2wTl

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) June 6, 2022

It was in opposition to Mavi that he seemed most uncomfortable. The pacer beat his exterior edge a number of occasions, hit him on the ribs, flooring Agarwal. Mavi saved on hitting the off- stump line, and at last discovered the sting, wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel finishing the formality behind the stumps.

During the South Africa collection, Sunil Gavaskar had raised a query mark on Agarwal’s approach.

“Agarwal is a very good player when the ball is hitting the middle of the bat, for the simple reason that he’s got that lovely little push. But when the ball moves a little bit, that bat speed gets him into trouble,” the previous India skipper had mentioned in commentary.

Brief Scores

Mumbai vs Uttarakhand

Mumbai 304 for 3 in 86 overs (Suved Parkar 104 batting, Sarfaraz Khan 69 batting, Armaan Jaffer 60; Deepak Dhapola 3/53)

Karnataka vs Uttar Pradesh

Karnataka 213 for 7 in 72 overs (R Samarth 57; Saurab Kumar 4/67, Shivam Mavi 3/40)

Bengal vs Jharkhand

Bengal 310 for 1 in 89 overs (Sudip Gharami 106 not out; Anustup Majumdar 85 not out, Abhimanyu Easwaran 65)

Punjab vs Madhya Pradesh

Punjab 219 all out in 71.3 overs (Abhishek Sharma 47, Anmolpreet Singh 47, Sanvir Singh 41; Puneet Datey 3/48, Anubhav Agarwal 3/36)