Ranji Trophy 2025-26 – Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep help Bengal take opening day honours
Ravi Singh
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Andhra 264 for 6 (Bhui 83, Bharat 47, Mukesh 3-50, Akash Deep 2-64) vs Bengal
Two late wickets tilted the balance in Bengal’s favour as Andhra ended day one of the quarter-final in Kalyani on 264 for 6. On the final ball of the 77th over, Ricky Bhui, on 83, first tried to play at a ball from Akash Deep before dropping his hands while looking straight down the ground. It seemed like something distracted him, but amid all that, the ball took his top-edge, and went to deep third.
Shahbaz Ahmed, placed a little wide there, took a diving catch to his left. There were animated discussions between Bhui and the umpires, with the batter arguing that he wasn’t ready. But Bhui was eventually given out.
Three balls later, Nitish Kumar Reddy pulled a bouncer from Mukesh Kumar straight to fine leg. Bhui and Nitish had added 108 for the fifth wicket after Andhra were 147 for 4 at one stage. KS Bharat attacked early, but was removed by Mukesh on 47 off 57 balls. He dominated a 58-run opening stand with Abhishek Reddy, who was dismissed when Akash Deep had him caught behind.
Mukesh had Bharat caught off a hook at fine leg, and Shaik Rasheed (46) caught at slip. CR Gnaneshwar departed when he slashed Mohammed Shami to Shahbaz at deep third, leaving the game in the balance.
That’s when Bhui and Nitish joined hands, with the latter taking his time to get off the mark. But just when it looked like both batters could go back undefeated, Bengal found an opening. Mukesh finished with 3 for 50, while Akash Deep got 2 for 64.
Bowlers make it Uttarakhand’s day
Uttarakhand 4 for 0 trail Jharkhand 235 (Aditya 83, Joshi 4-46, A Rawat 3-39, Mishra 3-50) by 231 runs
Fast bowlers Janmejay Joshi and Aditya Rawat, and left-arm spinner Mayank Mishra, shared all ten wickets as Uttarakhand bowled Jharkhand out for 235 in Jamshedpur. After opting to bowl first, Uttarakhand struck in the seventh over of the morning when Joshi had Shikhar Mohan caught behind for 4.
Sharandeep Singh and Manishi briefly steadied Jharkhand by adding 37 for the second wicket. But Mayank Mishra got Sharandeep for 26 to start a slide. After Sharandeep, Jharkhand lost Manishi (20), Kumar Kushagra (14) and Robin Minz (0) in quick succession in a collapse of 4 for 29.
Rawat got two of those wickets as Uttarakhand left Jharkhand at 80 for 5.
But captain Virat Singh and Aditya Singh fought back for the hosts. They added 90 for the sixth wicket to bring Jharkhand back on track. The partnership ended when, at the start of the 64th over, Rawat cleaned Virat up for a patient 47 off 122 balls. Aditya lost another partner eight overs later, when Mishra bowled Sahil Raj for 12. But he added a handy 27 for the eighth wicket with Ishan Om, and 21 for the ninth with Jatin Pandey.
Aditya was ninth out for 83 off 167 deliveries, including ten fours and a six. Although he carried Jharkhand to 235, that was only as good as a fighting total.
