Ranji Trophy: Salil Arora's hundred on debut takes Punjab to safety vs Madhya Pradesh

Making a remarkable first class debut, wicketkeeper-batter Salil Arora hit a resilient 101 to help Punjab recover from a jittery start and end the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group C match at 254 for seven against Madhya Pradesh , here Friday.

Arora, who came in at number seven, stitched an unbroken 100-run partnership with Sukhwinder Singh (64 from 96 balls) as Punjab made a superb recovery from being 154 for seven inside 63 overs.

Electing to bat, Punjab lost both their openers Abhay Choudhary (0) and Jaskaranvir Singh Paul (15) inside eight overs.

Their innings was in disarray with Naman Dhir (7), Pukhraj Mann (1), Anmolpreet Singh (25), Krish Bhagat (27) and skipper Mayank Markande (7) getting out cheaply.

But Arora showed fine resolve in the company of Sukhwinder who played a counterattacking innings, smashing eight fours and two sixes.

For MP, Kumar Kartikeya bagged 2/43, while Avesh Khan, Saransh Jain, Anubhav Agarwal, Kulwant Khejroliya and Shubham Sharma took one each.

At Alur, Kerala were 88 for no loss against Karnataka when bad light stopped play on truncated day.

Rohan Kunnummal was unbeaten on 57 from 74 balls with nine fours and one six, while Vathsal Goud gave a fine support with 31 in the 23 overs play that was possible following a wet outfield.

Brief Scores In Lucknow: Haryana 242/6; 90 overs (Himanshu Rana 114, Ankit KUmar 77; Shivam Sharma 3/46) vs Uttar Pradesh.

In Mullanpur: Punjab 254/7; 90 overs (Salil Arora 101 batting, Sukhwinder Singh 64; Kumar Kartikeya 2/43) vs Madhya Pradesh .

In Alur: Kerala 88 for no loss; 23 overs vs Karnataka.