Sheldon Jackson and Ravindra Jadeja shellacked 181 and 150 not out respectively as Saurashtra racked up 428 for 4 on the opening day of their second round against Jammu & Kashmir in Rajkot. The pair, who joined hands with the side precariously placed at 59 for 3 after electing to bat, added 281 for the fifth wicket.
Jackson’s 14th first-class century consisted 22 fours and seven sixes. He struck knock came off just 156 deliveries before Waseem Raza struck in the final session. Jadeja, in comparison, was more watchful, playing out 223 deliveries. By stumps, he had put on an unbroken 88 for the sixth wicket with Snell Patel, who was 31 not out. Robin Uthappa, promoted to open, made 37 while Cheteshwar Pujara, who continued to lead in Jaydev Shah’s absence, fell for 13.
Piyush Chawla, the legspinner, picked up five wickets in his first appearance as a professional as Gujarat, the defending champions, wrested the initiative in their season opener in Nadiad. Kerala, who elected to bat, were bowled out for 208, with just one fifty plus score courtesy Sanju Samson. Chawla triggered the lower order slide as Kerala lost their last six wickets for 38. Jalaj Saxena was unbeaten on 30. Sachin Baby, the Kerala captain, was the second-highest scorer with 49. In reply, Gujarat lost Priyank Panchal, last season’s highest run-getter, and Bhargav Merai to finish on 60 for 2.
Opener Amitkumar Gautam’s unbeaten century helped Rajasthan rally after a top order wobble against Jharkhand in Jaipur. His unbroken 131-run stand with Tarjinder Singh(66 not out) helped end the day at 250 for 4. Ashok Menaria contributed 50 before falling to Jaskaran Singh. Adding to concerns in the Rajasthan camp was the injury to wicketkeeper Dishant Yagnik, who was forced to retire hurt. They can avail a substitute wicketkeeper if Yagnik isn’t fit to keep later in the match, under the new ICC guidelines which the BCCI has also implemented. Ashish Kumar, the fast bowler, picked two wickets for Jharkhand.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo