Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Rana takes fifer but Delhi batters fail to capitalise on advantage vs Assam on Day 2

At the end of the second day, the home side trails Assam by 116 runs with four wickets remaining in the first innings in the Ranji Trophy clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Assam’s innings wrapped up when Harshit Rana claimed his fifer with a full ball to Mrinmoy Dutta that clattered the stumps. | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar/The Hindu

Not for the first time this season, Delhi was guilty of an underwhelming display with the bat despite a few of its players getting optimistic starts.

At the end of Day 2, the home side trails Assam by 116 runs with four wickets remaining in the first innings in the Ranji Trophy clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

At 214 for six in response to the visitor’s 330, Delhi faces an uphill battle to claim first-innings honours when play resumes on Monday. Skipper Himmat Singh hit 55 while Yash Dhull and Sanat Sangwan contributed 47 each, but neither of them was able to carry on and produce the sort of three-figure score that Sumit Ghadigaonkar did for Assam.

AS IT HAPPENED: Ranji Trophy Round 3: Delhi vs Assam Day 2 Highlights

Off the very first ball of its innings, Delhi was rocked by the dismissal of Gagan Vats. Dhull and Sangwan seemed to steady the ship by adding 66 runs for the second wicket in just 74 balls.

But in the first over after the lunch break, Dhull spurned a glorious opportunity for a big score, particularly with national selector Ajay Ratra watching from the media enclosure, by driving off-spinner Sarupam Purkayastha to Subham Mandal at cover. Himmat and Sangwan, too, looked assured during the minutes they spent at the crease.

However, to Delhi’s frustration, it wasn’t near sufficient to serve its interest.

At the start of another bright day in the national capital, Delhi’s bowlers had done their job by taking the remaining four Assam wickets fairly quickly.

A notable highlight was Himmat’s catch to dismiss Mukhtar Hussain.

When Hussain miscued his shot against Himanshu Chauhan, Himmat, stationed somewhere between mid-off and long-off, swung into action. He ran back a few metres while following the trajectory of the ball all along, eventually putting in a full-length dive to complete an excellent catch.

The innings wrapped up when Harshit Rana claimed his fifer with a full ball to Mrinmoy Dutta that clattered the stumps.

Brief scores:

Assam — 1st innings: 330 all out (Sibsankar Roy 59, Sumit Ghadigaonkar 162; Rana 5/80, Chauhan 2/62)

Delhi — 1st innings: 214/6 (Sanat Sangwan 47, Yash Dhull 47, Himmat Singh 55; Purkayastha 3/46, Rahul 2/32)

At Stumps, Day 2: Delhi trails Assam by 116 runs