Opener Chetan Sharma missed a century but Haryana made a comfortable 264 for four on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Plate Division final in Gurgaon on Wednesday.

Sharma (95) and his partner Bageshwar Bisht (50) justified their captain's decision to bat first as the left-right hand combination gathered 129 runs for the opening wicket.

Bisht was first to depart when he was caught by P M S Reddy off Arun Sharma.

But Chetan Sharma, who hit seven fours and a six in his 200-ball knock, continued to pile on the agony of the Services bowlers as he added another 48 runs with Sunny Singh (52) before falling to Yashpal Singh.

Though Haryana lost Sunny and Ishan Ganda (9) with the addition of just 45 runs, Shafiq Khan (28 not out) and Joginder Sharma (13 not out) ensured no more setbacks till stumps.

Arun Sharma (2 for 94) and Yashpal (2 for 46) shared the spoils for Services.

Both Haryana and Services are assured of a spot in the Elite Division next year by reaching the final and are hoping to cap off their fine run with a title triumph.

Scoreboard:

Haryana first innings:
B Bisht c Reddy b Sharma 50
C Sharma lbw b Yashpal Singh 95
S Singh lbw b Sharma 52
I Ganda b Yashpal Singh 9
S Khan not out 28
J Sharma not out 13

Extras (b-5, lb-3, nb-8, w-1) 17

Total (for 4 wickets in 90 overs) 264

Fall of wickets:  1/129, 2/177, 3/195, 4/222

Bowling: F Mohammad 2-0-11-0, S Ghag 23-3-67-0, A Sharma 38-8-94-2, Yashpal Singh 15-3-46-2, A K Mohanty 12-2-38-0.