Vinay Kumar sinks Mumbai with hat-trick

Nagpur, December 7 

Skipper R Vinay Kumar led from the front and picked up a six-wicket haul including a hat-trick to help Karnataka bundle out Mumbai for 173 in their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha.

Kumar, who made the most of the conditions after inserting Mumbai in, returned with impressive figures of 6/34, including a hat-trick completed in two overs, as 41-time champions Mumbai crumbled in only 56 overs on Day 1. At stumps, Karnataka were 115/1, 58 runs adrift of Mumbai with their in-form opener Mayank Agarwal unbeaten on 62 with M Abbas (12*) for company.

Gujarat on top despite Easwaran’s ton

Jaipur: Opener Abhimanyu Easwaran showed his mettle under pressure as his patient 129 enabled Bengal to score 261/6 at stumps on the first day of their quarterfinal against defending champions Gujarat. Courtesy Easwaran’s sixth first-class hundred and his 175-run stand for the fifth wicket with veteran Anushtup Majumdar (94), Bengal’s score had a semblance of respectability after being reduced to 59/4 at one stage.

Easwaran showed big match temperament in his 246-ball knock which had 17 boundaries. It was the second new ball that did the trick as Easwaran edged one off Chintan Gaja (2/75) to Samit Gohil. With Bengal playing five specialist bowlers on a greenish track, the tailenders would need to get the team past 300-run mark.

Vidarbha struggling at 45/3 on Day 1

Surat: KC Akshay claimed two wickets to help Kerala reduce Vidarbha to 45/3 on the opening day of their quarterfinal match which was truncated due to wet outfield. — PTI 

Ranji Trophy: Brief Scores

• Mumbai: 173 (Dhawal Kulkarni 75, Akhil Herwadkar 32; R Vinay Kumar 6/34) vs Karnataka: 115/1 (Mayank Agarwal 62*, M Abbas 12*). 
• Bengal: 261/6 (Abhimanyu Easwaran 129, Anushtup Majumdar 94; Ishwar Chaudhary 3/49, Chintan Gaja 2/75) vs Gujarat 
• Vidarbha: 45/3 in 24 overs (RR Sanjay 17; KC Akshay 2/14) vs Kerala
• MP: 223/6 (Dane 59, Ojha 49; Mishra 3/40) vs Delhi