Ranji Trophy First Round Live Updates: Akash Deep on a roll against Delhi; all eyes on KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal

The BCCI President, Mithun Manhas, rings the bell at Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium in Srinagar as the Ranji Trophy match between J&K and Madhya Pradesh finally gets underway. Can J&K defend their title? There's a long way to go, but a good start is of utmost importance.

J&K will be bowling first against Madhya Pradesh. Auqib Nabi, who took more than 60 wickets in the last season, will once again be the key pacer for the Paras Dogra-led side.

It was just a matter of time before Akash Deep got the first wicket, and there it is. The ball jags back in sharply to dislodge the bails, and Sanat Sangwan walks back to the pavilion. The left-hander failed to get in line and the ball breached past his defence. Early wicket for Bengal, just the start they were waiting for. Yash Dhull now comes out to the middle and is off the mark straightaway.

Delhi 13/1 in 5.2 overs.

Here are the toss updates for other Ranji Trophy matches -

Mumbai vs Chandigarh - Chandigarh won the toss and opted to bowl

Andhra vs Karnataka - Karnataka won the toss and opted to bat

Jammu and Kashmir vs Madhya Pradesh - J&K won the toss and opted to bowl

Punjab vs Assam - Punjab won the toss and opted to bowl

Saurashtra vs Chhattisgarh - Chhattisgarh won the toss and opted to bowl

Hyderabad vs Tripura - Tripura won the toss and opted to bat

While Shami struggles to come into his groove, it's Akash Deep who's making the ball talk in Kalyani. There is exceptional carry on this surface in Kalyani, and both Delhi batters, Sanat Sangwan and Sarthak Ranjan, are clueless.

Sanat Sangwan is struggling as Akash Deep continues to bowl inswinger after inswinger. Sangwan is just managing to escape from the moving ball.

Delhi 12/0 in 3.4 overs.

The senior Bengal batter Abhimanyu Easwaran has been part of India's Test squad for several series in the past, but has never had a chance to make his debut despite scoring a pile of runs in domestic cricket. However, the fire still burns brightly, and the desire to play for India is still there.

The 31-year-old still has the dream to represent the national team; however, he will not let the uncertainty dictate how he goes about his business in the middle

Read the Abhimanyu Easwaran story

It's not an ideal start for Shami in the opening over as he leaks seven runs with Sanat Sangwan hitting a four off the fourth delivery. Sangwan and Sarthak Ranjan play the pacer out with ease, sending calming signals to the Delhi dressing room in Kalyani.

Delhi 7/0

For the match between Bengal and Delhi, the former have won the toss and opted to bowl. Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar are all in the playing XI for Bengal, and hence a trial by fire awaits the Delhi batters. For Delhi, Yash Dhull, Ayush Badoni, and Ayush Doseja will hold the key if the side are to post a substantial score in the first innings.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand have won the toss and elected to bat against Kerala.

There are several matches scheduled for Sunday, but some you need to keep an eye on for their star power. Bengal vs Delhi, Mumbai vs Chandigarh, Karnataka vs Andhra, J&K vs Madhya Pradesh and Saurashtra vs Chhattisgarh are some of the matches that you need to watch out for.

Mohammed Siraj's Hyderabad will also be in action against Tripura. The pacer will be leading the team for the first time in the Ranji Trophy.

Ahead of Bengal's match against Delhi, Mohammed Shami, the veteran pacer, addressed the media, and as expected, he was asked whether he still harbours the dream of making a comeback into the Indian squad. However, the speedster didn't make a fuss, simply saying it wasn't his loss if he didn't play for the national team yet again.

He also had good things to say about Bhuvneshwar Kumar who recently made a comeback into India's T20I team for the five matches against New Zealand.

There are plenty of things to keep an eye on in the Ranji Trophy season. For starters, the tournament will be all about identifying stars who can feature for India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy next year, as Australia come to town for five Tests. It would also be interesting to see how many matches Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gets to play for Bihar.

The T20I schedule is all stacked up as India travel to New Zealand for five T20Is after the series against the Windies comes to an end. Hence, it would be interesting to see how the youngster gets time to play in the Ranji Trophy.

Our special correspondent Somshuvra Laha gives you a lowdown on what to expect from the latest Ranji season and what are the things that you should be eagerly looking out for

Our correspondent Samreen Razzaqui hit the ground running, speaking to the newly appointed Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya. Delhi, which has won the Ranji Trophy seven times, last emerged victorious in 2007-08, and it has been a long wait since then. Years have passed, but Delhi's performances have continued to go downhill. Can Dahiya and the new mentor, Rajkumar Sharma, turn it all around?

If you want to read how Dahiya is going about coaching Delhi, here's a peek into his mindset and philosophy

A total of 38 teams have been divided into five groups: A, B, C, D, and the Plate Group. Mumbai will begin their campaign against Chandigarh while Delhi take on Bengal. The defending champions, Jammu and Kashmir, will begin their campaign against Madhya Pradesh.

Several Indian stars, including KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja, Mukesh Kumar, and Akash Deep, will be in action for their respective state teams. However, India captain Shubman Gill will miss Punjab's match against Assam; however, he's likely to be available for the second round.

Here's all you need to know about the latest Ranji season

India's premier red-ball domestic competition finally gets underway today. I, Vishesh, will be taking you through the major developments of the opening day of the Ranji Trophy first round. Mumbai, Delhi, Bengal, Karnataka are all in action, which basically means there's a lot of cricket that you need to stay up with. All the updates will be provided here. Stay tuned.