Defending champions Railways found the going tough on the opening day of their elite group match against Delhi at the FerozeShah Kotla ground. After being put in, the Railwaymen struggled to reach 200-7 before play was called off. Opener Shreyas Khanolkar, who made 68, and Jacob Martin, who made 56, were the only two batsmen to make a significant contribution.

In worser strife was the Mumbai team, who struggled on a low-scoring first day against Hyderabad at Secunderabad's Gymkhana Ground. After winning the toss and electing to bat, the most successful team in Ranji Trophy history found their innings in tatters, as medium-pacer Narender Pal Singh claimed 6-37 to reduce them to a miserable 98 all out. When the hosts replied, they only fared marginally better; a 38 from opener Nand Kishore helping them reply with 82-5.

Punjab also struggled after opting to bat against last year's Ranji Trophy runner-up Baroda at Mohali. At the end of 90 overs, they were 207-9 thanks in main to a 41 from wicket-keeper Pankaj Dharmani and good hands of 38 and 37 from left-hander Ankur Kakkar and Amit Uniyal respectively. For Baroda, medium-pacer Rakesh Patel continued his good showing in India's premier domestic tournament, claiming 3-43.

Orissa and Bengal, then, were the exceptions to the rule; the two East Zone sides making strong starts to their match against Assam and Rajasthan respectively.

The Orissa team were well-served by a hundred at the top of the order from Biswa Mohapatra, who made a swashbuckling 107 off 139 balls with 14 fours and as many as four sixes. Pravanjan Mullick, who made a rapid unbeaten 92 off 103 balls, was the other batsman to make an impression in the match played at the North-East Frontier Railway Stadium, Guwahati. When stumps were drawn, Orissa were 304-7 with Debasish Mohanthy (29*) keeping Mullick company. For Assam, off-spinner Arnald Konwar, who claimed 5-52 was the most successful bowler.

Bengal, meanwhile, had reached 277-3 at the end of the opening day of their match against Rajasthan, being played at Kolkata's famed Eden Gardens ground. A 230-run second wicket partnership between opener Amitava Chakraborty and No 3 Devang Gandhi ensured that the hosts got off to the ideal start in the four-dayer. Chakraborty made 90 while Gandhi made 138 off 203 balls with 19 fours before being dismissed.

Mishra saves Haryana the blushes

Fighting hands from Amit Mishra, Joginder Singh and captain Ajay Ratra helped Haryana recover to 250-6 on the opening day of their four-day plate group encounter against Madhya Pradesh.

The hosts had been reduced to 100-5 at one stage after they won the toss and elected to bat. But Mishra, more renowned for his abilities as a leg-spiner, forged useful 75-run stands for the sixth wicket and the unbroken seventh wicket with Ratra (33) and Singh respectively to bail his team out of trouble. Mishra (72*) and Singh (43*) will resume battle when play resumes on the second day.

Former Ranji champions Karnataka, meanwhile, struggled to put the runs on the board in their four-day clash against Maharashtra at the Nehru Stadium, Pune. Wicket-keeper Thilak Naidu, who made a patient 61, was the top-scorer on a day when No 9 Dodda Ganesh made a 35 not out off 67 balls. For Maharashtra, 19-year-old debutant off-spinner Kashinath Khadkikar claimed 4-59.

In another match played at Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur, fifties from Kavaljit Singh (52*) and opener V Taggar (57) along with good hands from Ashwani Gupta (40*) and S Kanth (40) helped Jammu and Kashmir crawl their way to 194-2 against Bihar.

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