Ranji Trophy: Gujarat's number 10 batter Arzan Nagwaswalla frustrates Andhra with unbeaten 59

Batting at number 10, Arzan Nagwaswalla hit a pugnacious 59 and added 86 runs for the unconquered ninth wicket with skipper Chintan Gaza (38) in a splendid rearguard action to take Gujarat to 289 for eight against Andhra on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy match here Friday.

Electing to bat, the hosts had a steady start with Rishi Patel (26) and Priyank Panchal (28) adding 48 runs for the opening stand.

Manan Hingrajia (48) also began well but could not make the most of it. The middle- order then wobbled a bit with Gujarat losing Umang Kumar (15) and Jaymeet Patel (20) cheaply.

While Urvil Patel made a quickfire 48 off 53 balls with four fours and three sixes, wickets kept tumbling for Gujarat .

Left-arm spinner Lalith Mohan (3/90) and off-spinner Tripurana Vijay (2/84) shared five wickets between them and were responsible for hastening the Gujarat collapse but Arzan denied them with his fighting approach.

Arzan had a steady partner at the other end as Gaja happily played the second fiddle.

They frustrated the Andhra bowlers by staying unseparated for the final 20 overs. Arzan hit eight fours and a six in his unbeaten 72-ball knock, while Gaja was more patient, scoring 38 off 88 balls with just one shot to the fence.

Brief Scores: Gujarat 1st innings: 289 for 8 in 87 overs against Andhra. (Arzan Nagwaswalla 59 batting, Chntan Gaja 38 batting; L Mohan 3/90, T Vijay 2/84) Other Group B matches: Dharamsala: Rajasthan 1st innings: 304 for 7 in 87 overs against Himachal Pradesh (Yash Kothari 84, Mahipal Lomror 89 batting; Mayank Dagar 4/83) Dehradun: Uttarakhand 1st innings: 313 for 8 in 76 overs against Hyderabad (Avneesh Sudha 89, Aditya Tare 69, Yuvraj Chaudhary 49; Tanay Thaygarajan 3/83, Rohit Rayudu 2/16) Puducherry: Vidharbha 1st innings: 261 for 8 in 83 overs. (Yash Rathod 118, Harsh Dubey 69; Gaurav Yadav 3/57, Sagar Udeshi 2/40, Fabid Ahmed 2/51).