07 December,2011 08:56 AM IST | | Agencies
A century from opener Chirag Pathak helped Saurashtra end the day at 244 for two against Mumbai on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Division match here yesterday. Electing to bat, Pathak slammed 116 off 246 balls and was involved in a 218-run stand with Bhushan Chauhan, who remained not out on 87.
Zaheer Khan
Pathak hit 13 boundaries before he was caught by Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer off off-spinner Romesh Powar (1/38) in the 75th over. Once again, all eyes were on India's premier fast bowler Zaheer Khan, who is aiming to be match fit for the Australia tour. Zaheer managed to register his name among wickets when he cleaned up Sagar Jogiyani (8) three overs later.
Other centurions
Railways' Nitin Bille, Punjab's Ravi Inder Singh and Karan Goel too struck hundreds on the opening day. Delhi, who thrashed Baroda by 10 wickets at home last week, fought back against Madhya Pradesh after being bowled out for 158 at Emerald High School Ground in Indore. Ashish Nehra and Pradeep Sangwan bagged two wickets each as Delhi reduced the hosts to 86 for six before stumps were drawn.
Punjab made a promising start against defending champions Rajasthan in a fifth round match, scoring 283 for 3 by stumps at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Inder Singh's 133 and Goel's unbeaten 116 laid a strong foundation for a big score in the first innings.
