CHENNAI: Centuries from
Zhimomi
(177) and
Nitesh
(100) put
Nagaland
in a commanding position at 387 for 5 at the end of Day 1 of their
Ranji Trophy clash against
Cricket Association of Pondicherry
(CAP) on Monday. Opting to bat first, Nagaland were in early trouble at 35 for 3 after veteran pacer Pankaj Singh (3/95) struck twice in the opening 10 overs.
Opener Paras was the first to depart, falling to Pankaj in the seventh over after an innings of 22 from 19 balls that included five boundaries. In the very next over, fellow opener Sedezhalie too made his way back to the dressing room, giving off-spinner Fabid Ahmed his first wicket.
Pankaj, who has been the pick of the bowlers for Pondicherry this season, had his second wicket in as many overs when he dismissed Pawan KB for 0.
From there on, Zhimomi and Nitesh staged a rescue act with a substantial partnership of 215 runs for the fourth wicket from 277 balls. As importantly, both of them ensured that the runs came at a lively pace during their stay at the crease.
While Zhimomi brought up his hundred off just 119 balls, Nitesh took 144 balls to reach the coveted three-figure mark. Much to Nitesh's frustration, though, he fell soon after getting to his century.
Skipper R Jonathan then stitched together a 137-run partnership for the fifth wicket alongside Zhimomi, which was halted only when the latter was dismissed for 177 off what turned out to be the last ball of the day. By then, the damage was well and truly done as Nagaland had notched up 387 runs on the board at a scoring rate of 4.42 per over.
Brief scores: Nagaland 387/5 in 87.5 overs (Zhimomi 177, Nitesh 100; Pankaj Singh 3/95) vs Cricket Association of Pondicherry
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