The pitch turned out to be a spin paradise as the spinners claimed 21 wickets on day one of the elite Group-D match between Pondicherry and Jammu & Kashmir in the sixth round of the Ranji Trophy at the Cricket Association of Pondicherry (CAP) Siechem ground here on Friday.
The red-soil pitch enabled three five-wicket hauls. Left-arm spinner Sidak Singh’s maiden First-Class five-for (five for 39) helped Pondicherry bowl out Jammu & Kashmir for a meek 106 within the first session itself. In response, left-arm spinners Abid Mushtaq (five for 64) and debutant Vanshaj Sharma (five for 74) managed to restrict Pondicherry to 172.
The 60-run fifth-wicket partnership between Paras Dogra (58, 107b, 3x4) and K.B. Arun Karthick (50, 50b, 5x4) ensured that Pondicherry secured a 66-run first-innings lead.
