The first round of the Plate leagues of the Ranji Trophy continued with three games beginning on Tuesday. Kerala faced off against Goa at Kochi, but the hosts did not perform too well despite getting first bat after winning the toss. S Somasunder and C Hemanth Kumar hit 41 and 45 respectively, but they were the only bright spots in an otherwise dismal batting display. Kerala were dismissed for 212 in 84 overs, and Goa batted four overs before the close of play to reach eight for no loss.

Vidarbha fared better with their batting at Nagpur, winning the toss and reaching exactly 300 in 82.3 overs against Saurashtra. Although there were no centuries, a remarkably consistent middle-order meant that the top-score was only 59, off 126 balls, by Chandrasekhar Atram. Rakesh Dhurv took three wickets for 50 runs for Saurashtra, and his side was at 12 for no wicket at the close of play.

At the Air Force Palam Ground in Delhi, Services won the toss and batted first. They displayed firm resolve in their innings, not squandering first strike and reaching 243 for two in 87.1 overs before stumps. PMS Reddy and Sarabjeet Singh, the opening pair, went early, but Jasbir Singh and Yashpal Singh did well to put on 154 runs for the second wicket. The former hit 113 off 250 balls, while the latter made a more sedate 77 off 159 balls.

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