Barrington Rowland and Robin Uthappa hammered big hundreds as Karnataka got off to a great start on the opening day against Madhya Pradesh at Bangalore

Wisden Cricinfo staff25-Nov-2004

Rohan Gavaskar played the lone hand for Bengal at Siliguri© Cricinfo

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Barrington Rowland and Robin Uthappa hammered big hundreds as Karnataka got off to a great start on the opening day against Madhya Pradesh at Bangalore. Having started their season on a disastrous note, Karnataka included Uthappa for this game ahead of Arun Kumar, who was axed from the captaincy as well as dropped from the side after the match against Gujarat. The new combination were parted only late in the day after they had put on 324 at almost four-an-over. Uthappa fell for 162, after carting 21 fours and a six. Rowland, who had a lukewarm start to the season after enjoying a good run last year, remained unbeaten on 169 when stumps were drawn and MP may be in for another leather-hunt tomorrow.
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After conceding first-innings points to newly-promoted Madhya Pradesh in the previous game, Mumbai got off to a fine start against Andhra Pradesh at the Wankhede Stadium. Vinit Indulkar and Amol Muzumdar made 111 each as their 246-run stand put Mumbai in command. This was Indulkar’s first hundred in first-class cricket.
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All the Bengal batsmen managed starts, but the Gujarat bowlers struck at regular intervals and restricted Bengal to 278 for 8 at the end of the first day at Siliguri. Rohan Gavaskar, the Bengal captain, made a steady 80 after choosing to bat first, but Gujarat pulled off three run-outs – one of them being Gavaskar – and fought their way back into the contest.
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Ajay Jadeja, the captain, waged a grim battle as Delhi struggled on their opening day at the Jamia Millia Ground. Jadeja elected to bat after winning the toss but Delhi were reduced to 30 for 5 in the first 20 overs, as Harvinder Singh, the former Indian medium pacer, snapped up the top three. Jadeja then strung together two painstaking partnerships, first with Varun Kumar and then with Sarandeep Singh, as Delhi crawled to 179 for 6 at the end of the day. Jadeja was uncharacteristically restrained and took 221 balls for his 74.
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Baroda justified their decision to field first at Mohali and bundled Punjab out for just 175 on the first day. Irfan Safi Pathan and Shekhar Joshi, the medium-pacers, snapped up three wickets apiece. Only Ravneet Ricky, the opener, made an impression with a dogged 42 off 141. Ricky got some good support from the tailenders and Punjab recovered from a perilous 106 for 7 to reach 175.
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Maharashtra kept Hyderabad down to 231 after inserting them at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad. Ranji Khirid and AA Sanclecha shared four wickets apiece and only Anirudh Singh and Shashank Nag managed to hold firm. Singh cracked a fine 103, his second first-class hundred, while Nag chipped in with a patient 60. But none of the others even crossed 20, as Maharashtra finished on a satisfactory note having chosen to field first.
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Rudra Prathap Singh, the left-arm medium-pacer, tore through Assam and Uttar Pradesh bowled them out for just 184 on the first day at Kanpur. P Aziz made a breezy 58, including eight fours and a six, but the rest crumbled agaisnt Singh and Salabh Srivatsava, who finished with 4 for 47.