Railways have made a rousing start to their second Ranji Trophy elite group match against hosts Rajasthan at Jaipur. With their top three batsmen - Shreyas Khanlokar, Amit Pagnis and Tejinder Pal Singh - getting among the runs, the defending champions ended the first day of their four-dayer at 282-3.

After Railways won the toss in the morning, Khanlokar set the early pace while making a scorching 50, before being dismissed. His opening partner Pagnis, then, forged an impressive 163-run second wicket partnership with Singh, before falling for a patient 89. For his part, Singh went on to make 95. After his dismissal, the reliable Yere Goud (36*) and the experienced Jacob Martin (6*)ensured that the remainder of the day was negotiatied without much ado.

An unbeaten 93 from captain Vikram Rathour, meanwhile, guided Himachal Pradesh to 203-4 in their elite group match against Bengal at Eden Gardens. Middle-order batsman Amit Sharma, who made 31, provide able support to his captain during a 93-run fifth wicket partnership. Rajeev Nayyar (14*), who returned after retiring hurt with cramps, was keeping Rathour company when stumps were drawn.

At the Wankhede Stadium, discarded India medium-pacer Ajit Agarkar made a splendid return to the Mumbai team, claiming 5-40 as Delhi crumbled to 123 all out after opting to bat in the elite group match between the two sides. Twenty-one-year-old medium-pacer Avishkar Salvi was the other successful bowler for the hosts, claiming 3-34. Mumbai made a strong start to their reply, reaching 66-1 with opener Wasim Jaffer unbeaten on 35 and M Tamhane batting on 15.

At the Guru Nanak College ground, Chennai, fifties from opener Satyajit Parab and middle-order bat Atul Bedade helped Baroda reach 237-6 at the end of the first day of their four-dayer against Tamil Nadu.

Orissa, for their part, reached 229-6 against Punjab in another elite group match that started at Cuttack's Barabati Stadium on Sunday. Opener Biswa Mohapatra and Rashmi Ranjan Parida, both of whom made 56 each, were the top-scorers for the hosts. For Punjab, left-arm spinner Navdeep Singh claimed 3-40.

The Gymkhana ground, Secunderabad saw the prodigiously talented Ambati Rayadu hold centrestage. The young man smashed 210 off 232 balls, including fours sixes and 26 fours as Hyderabad were dismissed for 353 at the end of their four-day . Anirudh Singh, who made a sedate 49, was the only other batsman to get past 30.

Kanitkar leads from the front

At Indore, Maharashtra captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar made 114 as the visitors reached 222-5 at the end of the first day of their plate group encounter against Madhya Pradesh, Abhijit Kale, who made 77 not out, was the other batsman to get among the runs. The duo's 150-run third wicket partnership meant that the visitors were on course to register a respectable first innings total.

The Jammu and Kashmir batsmen, who had made merry in their first round plate group match against Bihar, were, meanwhile, brought thudding down to earth by Haryana at the Molana Azad Stadium, Jammu. The hosts were dismissed for 121 after they opted to bat; D Mahajan the top-scorer with 44. Spinners Amit Mishra and Gaurav Vashisht, who claimed three wickets each, were the wreckers-in-chief for Haryana. The visitors too struggled in reply, reaching 102-5 when stumps were drawn. Ajay Ratra, who made 35, and Shafiq Khan, who made an unbeaten 26, scored the bulk of the runs with Mr Extras chipping in with 32.

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