Ranji Trophy 2023-24: Bowlers consolidate after Himmat Singh ton to pull Delhi closer to first win

Hrithik Shokeen and Himanshu Chauhan picked six wickets between them to leave Uttarakhand 91/6 in its chase of 173.

FILE PHOTO: Delhi’s Hrithik Shokeen celebrates with his teammates. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR / The Hindu

In a dramatic twist to a tale that appeared to be heading for a predictable finish, Delhi bowlers Himanshu Chauhan and Hrithik Shokeen complemented the heroics of skipper Himmat Singh and left Uttarakhand staring at a defeat in their Ranji Trophy match at the PCA Stadium here on Sunday.

Set a target of 173 after Delhi declared its first innings at 263 for nine, Uttarakhand stumbled to 11 for four, before recovering partially through a 78-run stand, but lost two wickets in the last two overs of the day to finish at 95 for six.

On the final day, Uttarakhand needs 78 runs and Delhi eyes four wickets for its first victory of the season.

Sunday belonged to Delhi which rode on Himmat’s career-best 194 and his 182-run stand with Lakshay Thareja (43) to eventually exercise the luxury of declaring its innings that was once tottering at 11 for five.

Uttarakhand, after losing three wickets to Chauhan and one to Shokeen, rebuilt its chase when Aditya Tare and Swapnil Singh raised 78 runs for the fifth wicket and took the total to 93.

But in the penultimate over, Tare fell to Chauhan and in the next over, Swapnil became Chauhan’s fourth victim. This dismissal, that also signalled the end of day’s play, shifted the momentum in Delhi’s favour.