Vidarbha batsman, Wasim Jaffer became the first player to turn out in 150 Ranji Trophy games when he was named in the starting line-up for the Elite Group Round 1 match against Andhra Pradesh at Vijayawada on Monday.
Jaffer did not get to enjoy the occasion though as he was dismissed for a golden duck by Cheepurapalli Stephen, leaving Vidarbha in a slight spot of bother at 40-2 after skipper Faiz Fazal also walked back early.
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The 41-year-old played 31 Tests for India, scoring 1944 runs with five centuries and 11 fifties, with a highest score of 212, a majestic innings against the West Indies in their home turf which helped India save that particular Test.
He made his Ranji Trophy debut in 1996 for Mumbai, and played for them for many years, scoring heavily before moving to Vidarbha two seasons ago, and incidentally won the title both times.
The batsman has shown no signs of slowing down either, as he also helped Vidarbha win the Irani Trophy earlier this year, scoring a massive 286 as the team ended up declaring at 800/7. They bowled out Rest of India for 390 and asked them to follow-on, where they made 79/0 and managed to draw the match, handing Vidarbha the trophy on the basis of their huge first-innings lead.
Rex Singh makes headlines again
Meanwhile in Kolkata, Manipur’s left-arm seamer, Rex Singh grabbed a brilliant 8/22 to skittle out Mizoram for just 65 in their Plate Group fixture.
The 19-year-old then made a valuable 65 off 77 balls with the bat in Manipur’s total of 289. Rex Singh also generated a lot of traction last year when he swung the ball prodigiously to claim all 10 wickets in an U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy game against Arunachal Pradesh, ending with figures of 10/11.
Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @BCCIdomestic
