Srivastava shines for UP

Tanmay took charge to lead the way for UP after Raina and R Srivastava were trapped in front. UP 292 for 7 at stumps.

Tanmay Srivastava's positive approach helped UP to reach the figure of 280 for 6. It began with a clipped first-ball boundary off his legs, followed by a steer to third man before settling down to play a fluent innings. Srivastava took a full stride forward at every opportunity and played as close to the body as possible. He attacked at every opportunity, slashing to the cover fence each time the bowlers gave width, and cutting when they dragged back the length.

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Earlier, Delhi took the honours in the first session of the Ranji Trophy finals as they managed to pick three UP wickets. UP, however scored 100 runs in firts session, with opener Tanmay Srivastava's agressive century of 105.

For Delhi, Sumit Narwal struck the first blow, picking up Rohit Prakash leg before for 6. Prakash, however must consider himself unlucky, as TV replays indicated that the ball slipped down the leg side. Soon after Prakash's dismissal, Suresh Raina came into the scene and showed signs of form. He was however pegged back just as he was getting into his stride when Pradeep Sangwan removed him for 16. The wicket came at a crucial time for UP as they were rebuilding their innings.

Then, skipper Mohammad Kaif joined Srivastava as the duo tried stitching up a partnership, only to be broken by leg-spinner Chetanya Nanda, who dismissed Kaif for 16. Srivastava, however kept going and reached his fifty, helping UP to cross the hundred-run mark in the break. Ravikant Shukla joined the opener after Kaif's dismissal and was unbeaten on 1 as the umpires called lunch.

The Wankhede Stadium in downtown Mumbai played host to the 2007 edition of the Ranji Trophy finals played between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Both teams are captained by international cricketers - Gautam Gambhir (Delhi) and Mohammad Kaif (UP).

Gambhir won the toss and decided to field first on a wicket that offers something for the pacemen in the first two days. Veteran medium pacer Amit Bhandari led the Delhi pace-pack along with Sumit Narwal and Pradeep Sangwan. Chetanya Nanda was included as the lone spinner in the Delhi line-up.

UP also kept up with the three-pace strategy, as they went in with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Sudeep Tyagi and Praveen Kumar. Piyush Chawla was included as the only spinner for UP.

Teams:

Delhi: Gautam Gambhir, Aakash Chopra, Shikhar Dhawan, Mithun Manhas, Aditya Jain, Rajat Bhatia, Puneet Bisht, Chetanya Nanda, Pradeep Sangwan, Sumit Narwal, Amit Bhandari

Uttar Pradesh: Rohit Prakash Srivastava, Tanmay Srivastava, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Ravikant Shukla, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Amir Khan, Praveen Gupta, Sudeep Tyagi and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.

Umpires: AV Jayaprakash and AM Saheba
TV umpire: SD Ranade
Match Referee: Satayabrata Mukherjee