Medium pacer D. Siva Kumar cast an exquisite spell to snare six wickets and hand Andhra an enormous advantage over Maharashtra on the first day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium here on Monday.
Maharashtra invited trouble by electing to bat on a lively track in seamer-friendly conditions, and the Andhra speedsters obliged by bundling it out for a paltry 91.
In reply, Andhra was 87 for the loss of three wickets at stumps.
Siva Kumar, who was part of India’s under-19 World Cup winning squad in 2008, continued to build on the best season of his career yet, wreaking havoc after P. Vijay Kumar had opened the floodgates by having opener Swapnil Gugale caught behind off the second ball of the day.
With a gentle run-up and a smooth action, the 25-year-old might not have visually intimidated the Maharashtra batsmen, but he certainly gave them a tough time by extracting considerable movement off the pitch and in the air.
The Visakhapatanam boy was deceptive while being consistent. He started off by claiming Harshad Khadiwale and Kedar Jadhav in consecutive overs.
Meanwhile, Vijay Kumar uprooted Ankit Bawne’s off stump with a sharp incoming ball, and C.H. Stephen ended Rohit Motwani’s brief resistance with a short, rising delivery.
Siva Kumar returned for his second spell to have Chirag Khurana and Rahul Tripathi caught in the slips as Maharashtra went into the lunch break at a miserable 61 for seven.
Anupam Sanklecha tried to ease the pressure by hitting out, but Stephen removed him soon.
Siva Kumar bagged Shrikant Mundhe’s wicket by holding on to a blinder off his own bowling to bring up his third fiver of the season.
He accounted for Samad Fallah off his next delivery to end the Maharashtra innings 45 minutes after lunch.
“This was my kind of wicket, and I was well-prepared for this track. If you release the ball well it will swing here,” said Siva Kumar, expressing surprise over Maharashtra’s decision to bat first.
The Andhra batsmen showed the intent to spend time in the middle. After K.S. Bharat was adjudged lbw off Fallah in the fifth over, D. Prasanth (26 batting, 122b, 3x4) and M.U.B. Sriram (31, 83b, 111m, 3x4) put together a patient 44-run stand for the second wicket, offering sturdy defence played correct shots.
Sanklecha dealt Andhra a double blow by picking up Sriram and Mohammad Kaif within two balls.
However, Prasanth and A.G. Pradeep (13 batting) played sensibly to prevent further damage.
The scores:
Maharashtra — 1st innings: Swapnil Gugale c Bharat b Vijay Kumar 0, Harshad Khadiwale c Bharat b Siva Kumar 6, Rohit Motwani c Bharat b Stephen 23, Kedar Jadhav c Bharat b Siva Kumar 6, Ankit Bawne b Vijay Kumar 2, Rahul Tripathi c Kaif b Siva Kumar 12, Chirag Khurana c Pradeep b Siva Kumar 7, Shrikant Mundhe c & b Siva Kumar 11, Anupam Sanklecha c Reddy b Stephen 17, Dominick Muthuswami (not out) 4, Samad Fallah c sub Sudhakar b Siva Kumar 0, Extras (lb-2, nb-1) 3; Total (in 41.5 overs) 91.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-10, 3-20, 4-25, 5-40, 6-52, 7-57, 8-82, 9-91.
Andhra bowling: P. Vijay Kumar 16-7-29-2, D. Siva Kumar 16.5-6-41-6, C.H. Stephen 9-1-19-2.
Andhra — 1st innings: D.B. Prasanth (batting) 26, K.S. Bharat lbw b Fallah 11, M.U.B. Sriram b Sanklecha 31, Mohammad Kaif c Motwani b Sanklecha 0, A.G. Pradeep (batting) 13, Extras (b-4, lb-2) 6; Total (for three wickets in 41 overs) 87.
Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-61, 3-61.
Maharashtra bowling: Samad Fallah 15-3-26-1, Anupam Sanklecha 11-2-31-2, Shrikant Mundhe 6-0-17-0, D. Muthuswami 8-4-5-0, Rahul Tripathi 1-0-2-0.
