Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Focus on Delhi’s batting unit in clash against Chandigarh

The return of batters Anuj Rawat and Ayush Badoni and all-rounder Hrithik Shokeen to the squad following their Emerging Teams Asia Cup commitments bolsters Delhi’s options.

Delhi’s batters Sanat Sangwan (right) and Gagan Vats celebrates after the victory over Assam during their Ranji Trophy cricket match at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR/ The Hindu

Delhi’s batting department will have to get its act together when it faces Chandigarh in the Ranji Trophy clash starting here on Wednesday. In the first three matches of the new season, it has had a few individual contributions, but a collective show of strength from the top six hasn’t yet been on view.

In the opener against Chhattisgarh in Raipur, almost all of Delhi’s specialist batters were guilty of frittering away starts. The notable exception was Jonty Sidhu, who combined effectively with the lower order and helped secure a first-innings lead. In the process, he reached his third First-Class hundred.

In the draw against Tamil Nadu, Yash Dhull played a lone hand with an unbeaten ton in the first innings while Sanat Sangwan shouldered a lot of the responsibility in the second essay. Even in its win over Assam in the previous round, the turnaround was fashioned by Harshit Rana, Sumit Mathur and Siddhant Sharma, all bowling all-rounders, making handy contributions lower down the order against a tiring attack.

“Yes, we need bigger partnerships between the openers. In the middle order, hundreds are important,” Delhi coach Sarandeep Singh said after the previous game.

The return of Anuj Rawat and Ayush Badoni to the squad bolsters Delhi’s batting options. All-rounder Hrithik Shokeen is also available. They were absent from Delhi’s previous two matches due to their commitments with India A in the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Oman.

The other notable change in the squad is the omission of Rana given that he is soon set to fly out with the Indian team for the Test tour of Australia. The 22-year-old pacer had taken a fifer and scored a half-century for Delhi before joining up with the India squad as a reserve for the third Test against New Zealand in Mumbai.

Since losing to Railways in the opening round, Chandigarh, led by Manan Vohra, has registered emphatic wins against Assam and Jharkhand.