Jadeja, Jani, Jackson help Saurashtra post 226/6 on Day 1 against Andhra

Fighting half-centuries by Vishvarajsingh Jadeja (73, 179 balls, 10 fours), Chirag Jani (53, 128 balls, 5 fours) and Sheldon Jackson (50) helped Saurashtra make 226 for 6 in 79 overs on the opening day of its Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Andhra here on Thursday.

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

Sent in to bat by Andhra captain K S Bharat, the visitors lost opener Harvik Desai (0) in the third over. Desai nicked one from left-arm medium-pacer C V 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.

While Jadeja looked to bide his time and wait for the bad balls to hit, Jackson looked to get on with things and hit nine boundaries and hoisted a huge six. He reached his half-century in 68 balls and fell three balls later, caught by B Sumanth off Prithvi Raj.

Arpit Vasavada (1), who had scored a ton in the final league encounter against Tamil Nadu, did not last long, edging one from medium-pacer Sasikanth to Bharat to leave Saurashtra in a spot of bother.

This brought together Jadeja and Jani (53 batting). They not only defied the Andhra attack but made sure that the scoreboard was kept ticking. They took the total past the 200-run mark and looked good to see the day through without further loss when Sasikanth got Jadeja to nick one behind to Bharat, who took four catches.

A lot will now depend on Jani and the lower-order including captain Jaydev Unadkat if Saurashtra has to post a fighting total in the last-eight match.

Brief scores: Saurashtra 226 for 6 in 79 overs (Vishvarajsingh Jadeja 73, Chirag Jani 53 batting, Sheldon Jackson 50, Kishan Parmar M 35; Prithvi Raj Yarra 3/51) vs Andhra.