Chandigarh: Opener Ravi Inder Singh grafted his way to a century (104, 251 balls, 17x4, 1x 6), but the Punjab batting line-up was still no match for a top-class Mumbai attack led by Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar on Day One at the Sector 16 Stadium here.

The 21-year-old from Patiala put his head down to score his fourth first-class hundred, but Punjab still ended the day on 242 for nine. At one stage, they were struggling to reach 200.

New Punjab skipper Ankur Kakkar took a gamble when he decided to bat first in conditions that would have suited the Mumbai pace attack and while the bowlers were spot on initially, the decision seemed to have paid off when Punjab reached 80 for two at lunch. However, it was the fall of the third wicket — Taruwar Kohli — that opened the floodgates.

For Mumbai, Zaheer made the difference. He first accounted for Kohli and then took the prized wicket of Pankaj Dharmani, after which Punjab could never recover. Ravi tried to stem the slide along with debutant Gaurav Gambhir, but the Mumbai bowlers kept up the pressure. At stumps, Manpreet Gony and Love Abhilish were at the crease. — Shalini Gupta

Brief scores: Punjab 242 for 9 in 86 overs (Ravi Inder Singh 104, Manpreet Gony 30 not out, Uday Kaul 28, Ajit Agarkar 4/41, Zaheer Khan 3/45, Dhaval Kulkarni 2/68)

Bose takes five as Bengal skittle out Maharashtra

PUNE: Bengal strike bowler Ranadeb Bose has a world record to his name: of bowling 10708 balls in first-class and club games without over-stepping. When asked about it, he states that it is not something that he focuses on in practice. “I don’t even know why I don’t overstep,” he says. What he does concentrate on in the nets is his line and length, which was spot on in Bengal’s opening Elite division match against hosts Maharashtra on Tuesday. The result was the destruction of Maharashtra’s top-order and figures of 5/67.

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