A sparkling century from young tyro Ambati Rayudu saw Hyderabad amass 296 for four from the first day's play of their Ranji Trophy elite group match against Bengal at Secunderabad on Thursday.

Rayudu pretty much held the innings together with Daniel Manohar, but scored almost twice as many runs off a similar number of deliveries as his partner. While Manohar made 64 off 163 balls with eight fours, Rayudu hit 134 off 165 balls with 16 fours and five sixes. The knock pushed Bengal onto the back foot, and at the close of play, the hosts were in a strong position, with D Vinay Kumar and Arjun Yadav unbeaten on 39 and 23 respectively.

Kishan Choudhary rattles Himachal Pradesh

Playing against Rajasthan at Jaipur, Himachal Pradesh found themselves bowled out cheaply on the first day of their Ranji Trophy elite group match, with medium-pacer Kishan Choudhary scalping four for 28 off 20.2 overs.

No Himachal batsman crossed 30, and only Sandeep Sharma's 28, Aashish Kapoor's 26 and Shakti Singh's 27. The visitors were bowled out for just 166 in 84.2 overs, and in reply, Rajasthan played out three overs without getting off the mark.

Mumbai suffer batting collapse at Delhi

Mumbai's batting continued to let their side down in this year's Ranji campaign, collapsing against Railways on the first day of their Ranji Trophy elite group match on Wednesday.

Off-spinner Kulamani Parida took four wickets for 30 runs off 16 overs, hastening the Mumbai decline. NS Shetty was the only batsman to offer a measure of resistance, but he too could scrape together only 26. At the close of the day's play - which started after lunch due to heavy fog - Mumbai were 101 for seven.

Amit Bhandari runs through Andhra

Picking six wickets for 73 runs off 17.4 overs, medium-pacer Amit Bhandari ran through Andhra Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy elite group encounter against Delhi on Wednesday.

Apark from Andhra skipper MSK Prasad and KS Sahabuddin, no other batsmen displayed any sign of application at the crease. Prasad made 59 off 132 balls, but Sahabuddin's unbeaten 71 off 109 balls was a far more entertaining affair, displaying nine fours and one six and ruining Bhandari's figures to some extent. Andhra were bowled out for 198 in just under 60 overs, and in reply, Delhi staggered to 59 for five, Sahabuddin starring again by taking four wickets for 16 runs off eight overs.

Balaji rips through Orissa at Chennai

With a deadly spell of five wickets for 25 runs off 12.1 overs, Lakshmipathy Balaji shattered the Orissa middle order in their Ranji elite group encounter against Tamil Nadu at Chennai.

Orissa found themselves bowled out for only 122 in 42.1 overs, with Sanjay Raul making 24 as the top-scorer. Extras, of course, outscored him with 34. In their first innings, Tamil Nadu were 144 for two, with S Sriram and Hemang Badani unbeaten on 47 and 36 respectively.

Zaidi scalps five against Punjab

If it had not been for 40s from Ravneet Ricky, Reetinder Sodhi and A Uniyal, Punjab would have been even more humiliated by Ashish Winston Zaidi's five for 84 off 28 overs at Mohali.

Punjab could only manage 208 in their first innings, with Ricky top-scoring with 45 and Uniyal following up with 44. Considering they were, at one stage, 21 for four, it may be looked upon as a fair recovery. In reply, Uttar Pradesh were 39 for no loss.

Naidu gives Vidarbha the edge

Vivek Naidu made an unbeaten 74 (100b, 13x4)that gave Vidarbha the upper hand in their Ranji Trophy plate group tie against Tripura at Nagpur. After Tripura were bowled out for a measly 102 in 53.1 overs, openers AV Deshpande and Naidu almost overhauled that on their own, putting on 84 for the first wicket.

Deshpande hit 51 off just 49 balls (11x4) against Tripura's toothless attack, and although he was dismissed, Naidu guided Vidarbha to 165 for two by the close of play, a lead of 63 runs.

Leggie Mishra deflates Bihar

Haryana managed to skittle Bihar out for just 225 in their Ranji Trophy plate group match at Gurgaon on Wednesday, with leg-spinner Amit Mishra picking six for 86.

Only Bihar opener MS Dhoni managed to play with any semblance of comfort, stroking 85 off 120 balls with 14 fours and one six. He did finally fall to Mishra, and the next eight wickets fell for only 120 runs. Bihar occupied 78.2 overs for their 225, and by stumps, Haryana had reached 23 for no loss.

Maharashtra, Mandar Sane dominate J&K at Pune

Another leggie who performed the starring role for his side was Mandar Sane of Maharashtra, who ripped through Jammu & Kashmir to scalp eight for 43 off 16 overs at Pune.

Jammu & Kashmir's only significant batting performance came from opener H Fayaz Ahmed, who made 49 off 104 balls with nine fours. None of the others could play Sane at all, and the visitors collapsed to 131 all out in 48 overs. In reply, Maharashtra were 155 for two, with NA Godbole batting well on 68 off 116 balls.

Hemanth Kumar strokes century at Delhi

Batting fluently, C Hemanth Kumar hit 116 delightful runs off 251 balls (11x4), rescuing Kerala from 50 for two and taking them to 220 for two by the close of play against Services at Delhi.

Hemanth Kumar was given good support by skipper Sunil Oasis, who made 71 off 157 balls (8x4), and the two kept the Services attack at bay for almost two and a half sessions, adding 170 runs for the third wicket. The day ended early due to bad light, but it left Kerala in a good position.

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