Kerala struggling at 196 for eight against Himachal

Nadaun (Himachal Pradesh): Despite Sanju Samson hitting an unbeaten century, Kerala were struggling at 196 for eight on the opening day of their Group C Ranji Trophy match against Himachal Pradesh here on Friday.

At stumps, Samson was not out on 100 and giving him company at the other end was Prasanth Parameswaran on 13. Besides Samson scoring a century, only two other batsmen in Abhishek Hegde (26) and Sachin Baby (19) could reach the double-figure mark today even as Himachal Pradesh bowlers wreaked havoc. Rishi Dhawan was the pick of the bowlers for Himachal with figures of three for 56. Vikramjeet Malik (2 for 43) and Gurvinder Singh (2 for 47) chipped in with two wickets apiece. Opting to bat, Kerala could never recover from a disastrous start. And it was the lone batsman in Samson, who held on to his ground even as wickets kept falling at the other end. Towards the end of day one, Samson managed to find an able support in Parameswaran and the duo put up 51 runs together for the unbroken ninth wicket to provide some stability to the visitors. In another Group C match at Jammu, Jharkhand bowled out Jammu and Kashmir for 195 before ending the opening day of their four-day Ranji Trophy match at 81 for one at the Gandhi Memorial Science College Ground. Jharkhand trail J&K by 114 runs with nine wickets in hand, with Rameez Nemat (batting 42) and Rahul Shukla, yet to open his account, at the crease. Shankar Rao (3/50) and Shahbaz Nadeem (3/50), who plays for Delhi Daredevils in IPL, took three wickets each, while Sunny Gupta claimed two for 37 to put Jharkhand on top against the hosts. Hardeep Singh was the top-scorer for J&K with an unbeaten 49, while Adil Rishi also contributed with a solid 41. Replying to J&K`s modest first innings total, Jharkhand openers Manish Vardhan and Rameez Nemat gave their team a fine start. It would have been a perfect day for the visitors had Vardhan not fallen for a well-made 31 in the second last ball of the day. Brief Scores: Kerela: 196 for eight in 73.4 overs (Sanju Samson batting 100; Rishi Dhawan 3/56, Vikramjeet Malik 2/43) vs Himachal Pradesh. J&K: 195 all out in 56.5 overs (Hardeep Singh not out 49, Adil Rishi 41; Shankar Rao 3/50, Shahbaz Nadeem 3/50) Jharkhand: 81 for one in 29 overs (Rameez Nemat batting 42, Manish Vardhan 31; Parvez Rassol 1/14). PTI