Two centuries late in the innings followed by four top-order Rajasthan wickets put Delhi in a commanding position at stumps on the second day of their Ranji Trophy match here on Thursday.
Overnight not-outs Kunwar Bidhuri (111) and Kshitiz Sharma (103) belted Rajasthan’s listless attack in the first session and helped Delhi reach 623 in the second. At stumps, Rajasthan trailed by 508 runs after being reduced to 115 for four.
Delhi, looking to finish its campaign on a winning note, stayed positive in its intent and scored briskly in the wicket-less pre-lunch session. Bidhuri and Kshitiz raised 196 runs for the seventh wicket to almost bat Rajasthan out of the contest. Bidhuri’s maiden century included 12 boundaries and a six before Kshitiz reached his second First Class century with 12 fours and a six.
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The two were also aided by some poor bowling and dropped catches in the first session. In addition, Rajasthan employed some non-regular bowlers to break the stand but the ploy did not help.
Delhi chose not to declare even after Kshitiz reached his century and kept looking for quick runs beyond 600. Rahul Chahar gained from Delhi’s decision to bat on and finished with five wickets, including all four to fall today.
When Rajasthan batted, looking to score 474 and avoid the possibility of being asked to bat again, Delhi bowlers made early inroads. Seamers Simarjeet and Bidhuri along with spinners Shivam and Vashisht scalped one wicket each to leave Rajasthan reeling at 80 for four.
Thereafter, the experienced duo of Ashok Menaria and Rajesh Bishnoi prevented further damage following their ongoing 35-run stand.
Brief scores
Delhi 623 (Kunwar Bidhuri 111, Kshitiz Sharma 103; Chahar 5-161) vs Rajasthan 115/4 (Ashok Menaria batting 38, Rajesh Bishnoi batting 23)
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