Opener Priyanshu Khanduri struck only his second century in a first-class career spanning seven years, helping Uttarakhand to a solid 232 for one in their Group B Ranji Trophy match against Andhra here on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Khanduri was batting on 107, while giving him company was skipper Ravikumar Samarth on 30 at stumps on the first day.

Khanduri’s opening partner Avneesh Sudha made 86 in 158 balls before being dismissed by left-arm spinner Lalith Mohan.

After Uttarakhand opted to bat, the duo of Khanduri and Sudha put on 157 runs for the first wicket to lay the foundation for a big first-innings total.

Khanduri was then joined by Samarth as the two shared an unbroken partnership of 75 runs for the second wicket to maintain Uttarakhand’s dominance on the opening day of the match.

Khanduri, who made his first-class debut in 2017 and has a highest score of 117, hit 11 fours during his stay in the middle while facing 272 balls.

Khanduri may have consumed a lot of deliveries in scoring his runs but he still ensured that his team remained ahead of Andhra when the stumps were drawn three overs early.

Himachal 263/6 against Vidarbha  

In Nagpur, a 106-run stand for the seventh wicket between captain Rishi Dhawan (47 batting) and Mukul Negi (38 batting) lifted Himachal Pradesh to 263 for six against former champions Vidarbha.

Opting to field, Vidarbha bowlers picked up wickets at regular intervals and reduced them to 156 for five, when Negi joined Dhawan to do the rebuilding job.

Middle-order batter Ekant Sen made 44, while Amit Kumar and Akash Vasisht chipped in 32 and 33 respectively.

Harsh Dubey (3/62) and Akshay Wakhare (2/42) were the most successful bowlers for Vidarbha.

Brief scores: 

In Vizianagaram: Uttarakhand 1st innings 232/1 in 87 overs (Priyanshu Khanduri 107 batting, Avneesh Sudha 86) vs Andhra.

In Nagpur: Himachal Pradesh 1st innings 263/6 in 90 overs (Rishi Dhawan 47, Mukul Negi 38; Harsh Dubey 3/62) vs Vidarbha.

In Ahmedabad: Puducherry 1st innings: 254/4 in 86 overs (Ajay Rohera 80, Akash Kargave 71, Jay Pande batting 53; Jaymeet Patel 2/39) vs Gujarat .

In Jaipur: Hyderabad 1st innings 261/5 in 88 overs (Rahul Singh 66, Rahul Radesh batting 53, Tanmay Agarwal 40; Kukna Ajay Singh 3/88) vs Rajasthan .