Services bowled out Maharashtra for 44 with medium-pacer P S Poonia returning figures of 5/11 in their Ranji Trophy match while Riyan Parag hit an unbeaten 104 to help Assam post 237/5 against Uttarakhand.on Friday. (More Cricket News)
By stumps on the opening day, Services took full control of the Group 'C' game by taking a 97-run lead at the Air force Complex Ground in Palam.
Poonia, who got his wickets in 10.2 overs, was complemented by Sachidanand Pandey (3/18) and Diwesh Pathania (2/13), as Maharashtra were shot out in 30.2 overs.
Services finished the day at 141 for four.
Only two Maharashtra batsmen got into double figures while four batters failed to open their account as Poonia and Co kept striking at regular intervals.
Pathania started the slide, getting rid of opener Murtaza Trunkwala (0) in the opening over by leaving his stumps in disarray.
The other opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (4) lasted 12 balls before falling to Pandey. The experienced Ankit Bawne was trapped leg-before for 6 by Poonia for his first wicket.
Satyajit Bachhav (11) and Chirag Khurana (14) put on 22 runs for the sixth wicket, the highest of the Maharashtra innings, before the lower order caved in for the addition of four more runs from 40 for six.
When Services batted, Mukesh Choudhary (1/17) struck early as he had Nakul Varma leg-before for a duck in the second over.
Ravi Chauhan (49 batting) and skipper Rajat Paliwal (42) added 69 runs to hand Services the advantage before the latter was caught behind by VV More off MD Ingale.
Chauhan and Rahul Singh Gahlaut (22 batting) ensured that Services finished the day without any further loss and the two will look to press home the advantage on day two.
There was no play on the opening day in the games between Tripura and Odisha in Agartala and Chhattisgarh and Haryana in Raipur.
Brief scores: Maharashtra 44 all out in 30.2 overs (PS Poonia 5/11, Sachidanand Pandey 3/18) vs Services 141 for 4 in 51 overs (Ravi Chauhan 49 batting, Rajat Paliwal 42; AA Sanklecha 2/37).
At Ranchi: Jharkhand 170 for 4 in 50 overs (Kumar Deobrat 35, Saurabh Tiwary 43 batting; Abid Mushtaq 3/24) vs Jammu & Kashmir.
At Dehardun: Assam 237 for 5 in 92 overs (Gokul Sharma 47, Riyan Parag 104 batting, Kunal Saikia 34 batting; Sunny 2/19) vs Uttarakhand.
(With PTI inputs)
