Gandhi, Kalaria rescue Gujarat vs Odisha in Ranji quarters

Jaipur, Dec 23: Riding on an unbeaten 126-run seventh-wicket stand between Chirag Gandhi and Rush Kalaria, Gujarat ended the opening day of their Ranji Trophy cricket quarter-final match on 197/6 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Friday.

At stumps, Gandhi and Kalaria were at crease with 62 and 59 respectively.

Playing their first Ranji quarter-final in 15 years, Odisha rode on medium-pacer Deepak Behera (3/36) and Basant Mohanty (2/48) to break the backbone of the Gujarat batting.

Opting to field, Odisha had Gujarat on the mat at 71/6 in 31 overs but Gandhi and Kalaria rescued the team with their gritty effort.

While Gandhi struck six boundaries in his 161-ball knock, Kalaria found the fence six times and cleared it once while facing 136 deliveries.

Gujarat were off to a pathetic start with the opening duo of Samit Gohel (4) and Priyank Panchal (2) back in the pavilion with the scoreboard reading just 9 runs.

Thereafter, Bhargav Merai (31) and skipper Parthiv Patel (12) took the team to 42 when the India stumper fell to Mohanty after facing 50 balls.

Earlier, lunch was taken 47 minutes early, with Gujarat on 39/2, due to concerns over the pitch when Parthiv was struck on the arm by a rising ball.

Play resumed after the ground staff re-rolled the pitch but Gujarat's woes continued against the medium pace of Behera, Mohanty and Biplab Samantray, before Kalaria joined Gandhi at the end of the 31st over to resurrect the innings.

Brief Scores: Gujarat 197/6 (Chirag Gandhi 62 not out, Rush Kalaria 59 not out, Deepak Behera 3/36, Basant Mohanty 2/48)