Exceeding all expectations, Harshit Rana struck thrice to hurt Tamil Nadu and kept Delhi in the hunt for the first innings lead after an absorbing second day’s play in their Ranji Trophy league clash at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground.
After Delhi’s ninth-wicket stand added 57 runs to raise an inadequate-looking first innings tally of 303, Tamil Nadu finished the second day at 214 for five, still needing 90 runs for the lead.
Ranji Trophy Day 2 Highlights Round 3: TN 214/5 vs Delhi; Rajasthan thrashes Puducherry
Wednesday proved a warmer day and the visiting team, looking increasingly comfortable under the bright sun, was expected to seize the initiative from the host. After all, the non-availability of of Ishant Sharma, Navdeep Saini and Simarjeet Singh had left Delhi with very few pace options.
But Rana proved the saviour for Delhi. Bowling his heart out after his debut last week, Rana took out Baba Aparajith, Washington Sundar and top-scorer Baba Indrajith, in that order, to leave Tamil Nadu worried. At that stage, Tamil Nadu was 200 for five and Delhi’s 303 looked bigger than it initially appeared.
Vijay Shankar and Pradosh Paul denied Delhi any more success. Though the second new ball is due only after 26 overs, these batters will have to see off the first hour on Thursday for the team to retain hope of being ahead on the first innings.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu made a brisk start after Delhi’s overnight not-out Pranshu Vijayran scored 50 of his 58 runs off Sandeep Warrier (31 runs dotted with two sixes and two fours) and Sai Kishore (19 runs, a six and three fours) to prop up the host’s fortunes by adding 57 runs off 58 balls with Rana for the ninth wicket.
In-form openers B. Sai Sudharsan (25, 24b, 4x6) and N. Jagadeesan (34, 46b, 4x5) almost toyed with the new-ball attack but could not last long. The boundaries continued to flow once the Baba-brothers - Aparajith (57, 8x4) and Indrajith (71, 9x4) - joined hands and went on to hit half centuries.
Just when Tamil Nadu seemed to be taking control, Rana struck in his fresh spell. After softening up Aparajith with a rising delivery which the batter failed to read well, Rana sent him packing. Soon, he scalped Washington Sundar when wicket-keeper Anuj Rawat moved well to the leg-side for his third catch of the day. Before long, Yash Dhull gleefully accepted Indrajith’s offering to balance the scales for the day.
The scores:
Delhi-1st innings: Dhruv Shorey c Aparajith b Vignesh 66, Anuj Rawat c Vijay Shankar b Vignesh 3. Yash Dhull c Jagadeesan b Vigesh 0, Jonty Sidhu c Jagadeesan b Warrier 57, Vaibhav Rawal c & b Warrier 11, Himmat Singh b Warrier 25, Lalit Yadav c Vijay Shankar b Warrier 40, Pranshu Vijayran c Sundar b Crist 58, Vikas Mishra c Inderjith b Vignesh 4, Harshit Rana c Jagadeesan b Crist 26, Kuldip Yadav (not out) 0, Extras (b-6, lb-3, w-4) 13, Total (in 97.1 overs) 303.
Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-3, 3-108, 4-135, 5-154, 6-197, 7-232, 8-237, 9-294.
Tamil Nadu bowling: Vignesh 25-7-50-4, Warrier 31-2-106-4, Kishore 4-0-32-0. Crist 15.1-4-35-2, Shankar 11-3-35-0, Sundar 11-3-36-0.
Tamil Nadu - 1st innings: B. Sai Sudarshan c Rawat b Yadav 25, N. Jagadeesan c Rawat b Pranshu 34, Baba Aparajith c Himmat b Rana 57, Baba Indrajith c Dhull b Rana 71, Washington Sundar c Rawat b Rana 2, Vijay Shankar (batting) 17, Pradosh Paul (batting) 3, Extras (nb-3) 3, Total (for 5 wickets in 54 overs) 214.
Fall of wickets: 1-39, 2-76, 3-162, 4-183, 5-200,
Delhi bowling: Rana 16-1-73-3, Kuldip Yadav 10-0-50-1, Pranshu 8-0-14-1, Mishra 12-0-56-0, Lalit Yadav 8-0-21-0.
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