Ranji Trophy QFs Day 1 Highlights : Ranji Trophy Quarterfinals: Nidheesh, Anshul, Chintan Excel on Day One

New Delhi, Feb 8 (NationPress) The first day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals showcased an impressive exhibition of bowling across four matches on Saturday. Kerala pacer MD Nidheesh achieved a remarkable five-wicket haul, limiting Jammu & Kashmir to 228/8 at stumps at the MCA Stadium in Pune.

Kerala won the toss and opted to have J&K bat first. The batting team had a dismal start as Nidheesh dismissed the top three batsmen in the opening session, leaving them struggling at 48/3. However, Kanhaiya Wadhawan managed to form a brief 19-run partnership with captain Paras Dogra, who was dismissed by Basil Thampi, before adding a 55-run collaboration with Sahil Lotra. Wadhawan scored 48 before Nidheesh took his fourth wicket of the day.

Lotra and Lone Nasir helped J&K's innings progress, pushing them past the 150-run mark. Lotra played a resilient innings of 35 off 125 balls before being dismissed by Aditya Sarwate. In the day's final session, Nidheesh completed his five-wicket haul by taking Nasir's wicket, who contributed a significant 44 in the late middle order.

Abid Mushtaq also chipped in with a crucial 19 runs before being dismissed by Thampi. J&K will aim to build on their overnight total as Yudhvir Singh and Auqib Nabi resume their innings from 17 and 5 runs, respectively. In another quarterfinal clash between defending champions Mumbai and Haryana at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Shams Mulani's counter-attacking 91 overshadowed pacer Anshul Kamboj's impressive 3-58.

Choosing to bat first, Mumbai found themselves in a precarious position at 94/6 as Kamboj and Sumit Kumar took advantage of the moving new ball. Kamboj dismissed in-form opener Ayush Mhatre on the very first delivery, followed by Sumit removing Akash Anand for 10 in the sixth over. Mumbai struggled to recover from the early blows as Kamboj took out Siddhesh Lad (4) before Sumit sent Suryakumar Yadav (9) back to the pavilion, causing panic in the defending champions' camp.

After a brief partnership between captain Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube, Ajit Chahal dismissed Dube, intensifying the pressure on Mumbai. Rahane's cautious innings of 31 was cut short by Kamboj, marking his final wicket of the day and leaving Mumbai at 94/6. Anuj Thakral then caught and bowled Shardul Thakur (15), putting Mumbai in further trouble. However, Mumbai's lower-order batting resiliently fought back as Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian formed a remarkable 165-run partnership for the eighth wicket.

Mulani scored 91 with 10 boundaries before being dismissed by Jayant Yadav, while Kotian remained not out on 85 with 11 fours, helping Mumbai finish at 278/8 in 78.3 overs at stumps.

The quarterfinal match between Vidarbha and Tamil Nadu was highlighted by Karun Nair's unbeaten century, featuring 14 fours and a six, alongside Danish Malewar's 75 with 13 fours, as the former opted to bat first in Nagpur. The home team ended the day at 264/6 with Vijay Shankar taking two wickets.

In another knockout match in Rajkot between Saurashtra and Gujarat, the latter exhibited dominance on the first day.

Gujarat won the toss and invited Saurashtra to bat first, a strategy that paid off as pacer Chintan Gaja returned with figures of 4-48, restricting the opponents to 216 in 72.1 overs. Despite opener Chirag Jani's score of 69, Saurashtra couldn't accumulate a significant total as Arpit Vasavada finished unbeaten on 39 but received little support from the other end.

In response, Gujarat ended the day at 21/0 with opener Priyank Panchal and Aarya Desai not out on 11 and 10 runs, respectively.