Amit Verma leads Assam's fightback after sloppy start

Middle-order batsman Amit Verma held together the innings with a patient unbeaten 74 to guide Assam to 193 for seven against Saurashtra on the opening day of the semifinal of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament, here today.
Asked to bat, Assam were in a spot of bother as the first three batsmen fell for just 25 runs before Verma and KB Arun Karthik (59) stabilised the innings with a 127-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Verma faced as many 210 balls during his unbeaten knock and hit 11 boundaries, while Arun Karthik's fifty came off 144 deliveries with the help of six fours and one hit over the fence.

But Assam lost the plot once again when Arun Karthik was bowled by Hardik Rathod as three more wickets fell in quick sucession to make life difficult for the Eastern side which is featuring in its first Ranji Trophy semifinal appearance.
At stumps, Dhiraj Goswami (7 not out) was giving Verma company at the crease with Assam playing 78 overs in the day.
For Saurashtra, pace duo of Rathod (3/37) and Jaydev Unadkat (3/60) shared six wickets between them.
Brief Scores:
Assam 1st innings: 193 for seven in 78 overs (Amit Verma 74 not out, KB Arun Karthik 59; Hardik Rathod 3/37, Jaydev Unadkat 3/60).