Bangalore: Elite 'A' bowlers Irfan Pathan junior and Sarandeep Singh did a good job picking up three wickets apiece and bundled out Elite 'B' for 219 on the opening day of its Duleep Trophy encounter on Thursday. Elite 'B' skipper M S K Prasad must be rueing his decision to bat first after winning the toss, as the side's batsmen, barring Wasim Jaffer (62) and Vinayak Mane (39), failed to tick at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Jaffer hit six fours in his 140-ball essay, top-scoring for the side. He put on 77 runs for the second wicket with Mane, after opener Amit Pagnis fell cheaply (11) having adjudged lbw to Pathan junior. Elite 'B' was at one stage comfortably placed at 98 for two but the middle order and the tail-enders let the side 5 badly. The last four wickets yielded just 38 runs as Elite 'A' bowlers asserted their supremacy. Pathan Jr and Singh returned with identical figures of three for 53, as Elite 'B' was bowled out for 219 in 80.1 overs. In reply, Reetinder Singh Sodhi-led Elite 'A', looking to salvage pride after unimpressive performance in its three league engagements, was 29 without loss off seven overs at stumps. Opener Gautam Gambhir appeared in fine nick as he smashed three fours for his unbeaten 17, while Sanjay Bangar was batting on nine. Extras:
Elite 'C' restricts Plate 'A' to 241 for 8

Tags: cricket, elite 'a', irfan pathan junior, sarandeep singh, duleep trophy, elite 'b' skipper m s k prasad, wasim jaffer, vinayak mane, m chinnaswamy stadium, amit pagnis, reetinder singh sodhi, gautam gambhir, sanjay bangar.