Ranji Trophy: Ankit Bawne unbeaten 105, Prithvi Shaw 70 as Maharashtra finish Day 1 at 287/5 in Palam
Ankit Bawne finished unbeaten on 105 and Prithvi Shaw made 70 as Maharashtra reached 287 for 5 at stumps against Services on Day 1 of their Ranji Trophy match at Palam A Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, October 11.
Bawne, 34, is in his 19th Ranji Trophy season and had spent the last two months preparing for the campaign; he said he had been visualising an innings like this for several months. He endured a poor first-class season last year, averaging 10 across seven matches, against a career average of nearly 50. Maharashtra were captained by Prithvi Shaw in the absence of Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was away on India A duty.
Bawne's unbeaten 105 came off 232 deliveries, with 11 boundaries and a six, and he shared an unbroken 58 for the sixth wicket with Vicky Ostwal, who was 25 not out at stumps. Earlier in the innings Shaw provided the main counter-attack, scoring 70 from 73 balls with eight boundaries and a six before being bowled by Arjun just before lunch. Shaw had helped arrest an early slide after Maharashtra lost two of their top three.
The surface offered uneven bounce early in the day, with left-arm pacer Rajbahadur Pal extracting movement and left-arm spinner Arjun Sharma making an early impact. Shaw combined periods of caution with aggression to negotiate the testing conditions and capitalise when scoring opportunities presented themselves. Those approaches allowed Maharashtra to rebuild after the initial setbacks.
Bawne added a 48-run partnership with Shaw, then combined with Siddhesh Veer for a 78-run stand for the fifth wicket, stands that steadied the innings on a challenging pitch. The pairings and Bawne's innings were central to Maharashtra's recovery to 287/5 at stumps. Selectors were present in the stands at Palam to observe the performance.
After a difficult campaign last season, Bawne's century has given both the veteran and Maharashtra a timely reason for optimism as the new Ranji Trophy season gets underway.
