Gaikwad, Rahane hit centuries on opening day
Assam skipper Riyan Parag registered figures of 5-25 to bowl Services out for 108 after his own side was bowled out for 103 on an eventful first day. He accounted for five of the first six wickets to fall and began by dismissing Jayant Goyat and Mohit Ahlawat in the very first over of the innings. Batting for a second time, Assam lost five more wickets as a total of 25 wickets tumbled on the first day's play at Tinsukia.
India batter and former Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane struck a patient 118 in Mumbai's game against Chhattisgarh at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC. Walking in at the fall of Musheer Khan in the ninth over, Rahane took control and struck 15 fours in his innings before retiring hurt towards the end of the day's play.
Hyderabad skipper Gahlaut Rahul Singh led from the front as he struck an unbeaten 114 off 174 against Puducherry. Opting to bat after winning the toss, Hyderabad lost both openers after a steady partnership with Abhirath Reddy being dismissed and Tanmay Agarwal retiring hurt. Rahul Singh combined with Kodimela Himateja to share a 167-run stand to take Hyderabad to 255/1 at Stumps.
Left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh picked up a five-wicket haul as Tripura fought back having been bowled out for just 126 by Haryana on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy encounter. Swapnil struck in his very first over as he dismissed Ankit Kumar before returning to dismiss Mayank Shandilya in his next. An over later, he also accounted for Lakshya Dalal leaving Haryana in a spot of bother at 17/3. He returned to pick the last two wickets to fall in the day - that of Sumit Kumar and Anuj Thakral - leaving Haryana on 155/8
22-year-old Harnoor Singh struck his maiden century on the opening day of Punjab's encounter against Kerala. Remaining unbeaten on 126 off 259, the impressive left-handed opening batter struck 11 fours in his innings. Batting with great composure, Harnoor brought up fifty just before Lunch and reached the three-figure mark early in the third session with Punjab ending the day on 240/6.
There was a run-scoring marathon at Dimapur as Tamil Nadu piled on 399/2 at the end of the first day's play against Nagaland. Opener Vimal Khumar and Pradosh Ranjan Paul shared a mammoth 307-run partnership to run the Nagaland bowlers ragged. The duo were only separated late in the day after Khumar was dismissed 11 runs shy of a double century. His innings was laced with 28 fours while Pradosh, remained unbeaten on 156, striking 19 fours.
In a spell of impressive new ball bowling that tied the Karnataka batters down, Goa's Arjun Tendulkar registered figures of 3/47 on the first day's play at Shimoga. He provided Goa their first breakthrough by dismissing a struggling Nikin Jose before dismissing Krishnan Shrijith for a duck in his following over. He returned to claim the final wicket of the day - that of Abhinav Manohar - in the 45th over. Karnataka's fight, meanwhile, was led by Karun Nair (86*) and Shreyash Gopal (48*) as they reached 222/5 at Stumps.
Maharashtra posted a strong 313 before being bowled out at the stroke of stumps on Day 1 in their game against Chandigarh. Leading their effort was Ruturaj Gaikwad who struck a fluent 116 off 163 deliveries. Walking in at the fall of two relatively early wickets, Gaikwad lost two more partners before Saurabh Nawale joined him to offer resistance. They shared a 152-run stand before Nawale was dismissed for 66 at the stroke of Tea. Gaikwad notched up his century early in the final session before becoming Chandigarh's seventh victim.
Saurashtra finished on 258/8 at the end of the first day's play in their Ranji fixture against Madhya Pradesh at Rajkot. Opting to bat, Saurashtra started strong with the openers sharing a 50-run stand. They were 93/1 heading into Lunch and had consolidated their position further at 190/3 at Tea following a few more partnerships. However, the final session saw them slip as they lost five wickets for just 54 runs with Kumar Kartikeya registering figures of 4-84. He also claimed the prized scalp of Ravindra Jadeja, who made a patient 36.
