Skipper Parthiv Patel led from the front with his 27th first-class century and helped Gujarat reach 330/4 on the first day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Goa in Valsad. The left-hander scored an unbeaten 118 off 156 balls at the Sardar Patel Stadium, hitting 15 boundaries off the Goa bowlers.

In the process, Patel also completed 11,000 first-class runs. Opting to bat, Gujarat openers Samit Gohil (52) and Priyank Panchal (28) gave a sedate start and added 64 for the first wicket before the latter holed out to cover.

One-down Bhargav Merai (84 off 113 balls) joined Gohil, who failed to convert his start. He poked at a wide delivery from left-arm spinner Darshan Misal and was caught by Snehal Kauthankar in the slips. Gujarat were 107/2. Patel and Merai then started the rescue act. Both the batsmen scored at a brisk pace as they hammered a listless Goa attack.

The duo added 139 runs for the third wicket and did not allow Goa to make a comeback. Merai, a right-handed batsman, struck 12 boundaries. He, however, could not get his eighth first-class hundred, as he departed after a well-made 84.

Majumdar scripts dramatic turnaround for Bengal

Anustup Majumdar’s gritty century rescued Bengal from a hopeless 46/5 in a dramatic turnaround for them on the opening day against Odisha in Tangi. At stumps, Bengal were 308/6. Put in by a pace-heavy Odisha, Bengal found themselves in all sorts of trouble in the first session.

Suryakant Pradhan (2/96), Preet Singh Chohan (2/52) and Basant Mohanty (1/48) used the early moisture to advantage and blew away the Bengal top order.

But old warhorse Majumdar, playing in his sixth match of the season, led a turnaround with an unbeaten 136 (20 fours), a composed innings that came under tremendous pressure. Majumdar, who will turn 36 next month, had scored 99 in a similar situation in their rain-affected drawn encounter against Delhi earlier this season.

Rookie all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed, a Royal Challengers Bengaluru recruit in IPL, also showed a lot of maturity at No 7 with the left-hander slamming an unbeaten 82 to help Bengal take control in a fruitful final session.

With the duo putting on an unbroken 167-run stand for the seventh wicket, Bengal looked solid in the final session, which saw them score 99 runs at an impressive run-rate of 3.41. Wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami chipped in with 34 and lent Majumdar the initial support in a 95-run partnership, which steadied what looked like a sinking ship.

Jadeja, Jani and Jackson guide Saurashtra

Fighting half-centuries by Vishvarajsingh Jadeja (73), Chirag Jani (53) and Sheldon Jackson (50) helped Saurashtra make 226/6 against Andhra in Ongole.

For the home team, left-arm medium-pacer Yarra Prithvi Raj was impressive, picking up three wickets in 20 overs conceding 51 runs. KV Sashikanth picked up two wickets.

Sent in to bat by Andhra captain KS Bharat, the visitors lost opener Harvik Desai (0) in the third over. Desai nicked one from left-arm medium-pacer CV Stephen to the wicketkeeper Bharat. Kishan Parmar (35), the other opener, was watchful and added 34 runs for the second wicket with Avi Barot (14, 21 balls, 3 fours) before the latter edged one to Bharat off Prithvi Raj.

Parmar and Jadeja put on 33 runs for the third wicket before the latter became Prithvi Raj’s second victim, again caught behind. Jadeja and the experienced Jackson got together and added 72 runs for the fourth wicket.

Karnataka were wobbling at 14/2 at stumps after only six overs were possible due to bad light on the opening day against Jammu and Kashmir in Jammu.

Overcast skies meant the light alternated between poor to border-line for most part of the day. Play started after tea and only six overs were possible during which Karnataka struggled against Jammu and Kashmir new ball pair of Aquib Nabi (1/6) and Mujtaba Yousuf (1/5).

Karnataka lost openers Ravikumar Samarth (5) and Devdutt Padikkal (2). At the close of play, skipper Karun Nair was batting on four in the company of Krishnamurthy Siddharth, who is yet to open his account.

Brief scores

Gujarat 330/4 (Parthiv Patel 118*, Bhargav Merai 84; Amit Verma 2/73) vs Goa.

Bengal 308/6 (Anustup Majumdar 136*, Shahbaz Ahmed 82*, Shreevats Goswami 34; Preet Singh Chohan (2/52), Suryakant Pradhan 2/96) vs Odisha.

Saurashtra 226/6 (Vishvarajsingh Jadeja 73, Chirag Jani 53 batting, Sheldon Jackson 50, Kishan Parmar M 35; Prithvi Raj Yarra 3/51) vs Andhra.