Good Morning!
Welcome to Sportstar's LIVE coverage of the Ranji Trophy final between Delhi and Vidarbha in Indore's Holkar Stadium.
4.30 pm: That's the end of the first day's play. After a top order collapse, Delhi has stabilised to 271/6 in 88 overs, thanks to Dhruv Shorey's unbeaten 123. For Vidarbha A.Thakare and R.N. gurbani picked up two wickets apiece for 65 and 44 runs respectively. On the second day, Shorey and Vikas Mishra (5*) will resume the proceedings.
4.28 pm: At the end of 87 overs, Delhi is on 270/6 with Dhruv Shorey on 122 and Vikas Mishra on 5.
4.22 pm: A half-chance for Vidarbha, at the non-strikers end. The batsmen confused on whether to take the run but the Delhi batsman has no trouble in reaching home.
4.18 pm: Delhi is taking it slow and is on track to see the day through without any more hiccups. Delhi 264/6 in 85 overs.
4.08 pm: After 83 overs, Vidarbha takes the second new ball. Delhi 259/6.
Dhruv Shorey, meanwhile, gets to his highest Ranji Trophy score. His previous best was 107* vs Karnataka in 2015.
3.55 pm: Shorey is soaring in confidence. Neral pitches it slightly up and the batsman plays a straight drive, a beautiful one, and gets four. No chance for the mid on fielder.
Vidarbha continues with the old ball.
3.53 pm: At the end of 80 overs, Delhi is 247/6 with Shorey on 103 and Vikas Mishra on 1 in the middle. The new ball is available for Vidarbha now.
3.42 pm: 100 for Dhruv Shorey. He glances it on the leg side and scampers for a single. Shorey gets to the landmark in 223 balls with 14 fours. Delhi 244/6 in 77 overs. Shorey's previous best in the season was an unbeaten 98 against Uttar Pradesh. What a time to get the season's first century!
3.39 pm: Vidarbha strikes. Manan Sharma is caught by Faiz Fazal off Siddesh Neral. Manan walks back for 13, off 42 balls and Delhi loses its sixth wicket for 242. Vikas Mishra is the next batsman in. It was a lovely ball, going away from Manan and with the batsman trying to drive on the up, gets an edge and the ball flies to the slip cordon.
3.38 pm: Shorey moves to 99. He drives one to mid on and scampers for a single. It was a good shot but was fielded equally well.
3.31 pm: End of 75 overs and Delhi is on 239/5 with Dhruv Shorey on 96 (219) and Manan Sharma on 13 (38).
Dhruv Shorey is just four runs away from a well deserved century.
3.20 pm: At the end of 72 overs, Delhi has reached 232/5 with Dhruv Shorey on 95 and Manan Sharma on 8.
3.14 pm: Manan latches on to one Thakare delivery, that was tad overpitched, and sends it to the boundary.
3.06 pm: Dhruv Shorey in full form. He sends Thakare through the midwicket region for four and gets into the 90s. Delhi moves to 219/5 in 69 overs.
2.45 pm: Gurbani strikes. Himmat Singh is dismissed for 66, caught by Wadkar and Delhi loses its fifth wicket for 204 on the board. The 105-run partnership ends. A breakthrough that Vidarbha would hope to capitalise on.
2.40 pm: 200-up for Delhi in the 63rd over.
End of the the second session and it has belonged to Delhi. 27 overs bowled with 91 runs and one wicket. Delhi takes tea on 180/4 in 60 overs, with Dhruv Shorey on 67 and Himmat Singh on 50. Faiz Fazal takes all his players in a huddle as they leave.
2.07 pm: 50 for Himmat Singh. He gets the landmark with a neat shot to the long on fielder.
2.05 pm: Slightly overpitched from Wakhare and Shorey drives it to the fence. Delhi is slowly taking control of the proceedings. Delhi 179/4 in 59 overs.
Faiz Fazal introduces Sanjay Ramaswamy, the off spinner into the attack. Ramaswamy bowls an uneventful over. 172/4 in 58 overs.
End of 57 overs, Delhi 170/4.
1.51 pm: Himmat is takign Sarwate on. Another maximum. He gets to the pitch of the ball and sends it over long off, into the stands. He sweeps the next ball to the boundary.
At the end of 54 overs, Delhi has moved to 154/4 with Dhruv Shorey on 59 (163) and Himmat Singh on 32 (40).
1.40 pm: The 150-up for Delhi, in 52.4 overs.
1.38 pm: Dhruv Shorey and Himmat Singh bring up the 50-run partnership for the 5th wicket for Delhi. Shorey has contributed 19 runs and Himmat 29 runs in the partnership. Delhi 149/9 in 52 overs.
1.32 pm: Shorey latches on to a freebie. It was wide, outside the off stump and of a shorter length from Neral and Shorey cuts it neat to the fence. Easy pickings for the batsman.
End of 50 overs and Delhi is on 141/4.
Shorey and Himmat have added 42 off 72 balls so far for the 5th wicket, the highest of the innings.
1.30 pm: Himmat steps out and sends the ball into the stands. That was a huge six.
1.29 pm: Fifty for Dhruv Shorey. He pushes one to the mid on region and scampers for a quick single. The Delhi dug out standing up and applauding the effort. He is on 50 off 145 balls with 7 boundaries.
The left-arm spinner Sarwate into the attack again. His first spell reads 2-0-11-0.
1.26 pm: Shorey nears a half-century. He is on 49 off 142 balls as Delhi crawls to 133/4 in 49 overs.
At the end of 46 overs, Delhi 124/4.
1.13 pm: Himmat goes over the top, off Wakhare, fails to connect it clean. But for him, the ball finds the empty space near the cover boundary.
1.10 pm: Vidarbha fielder takes a blow to the face as he fails to judge the bounce of the ball as it rams into his face leaving him a bleeding nose. It was Himmat's drive and the ball was airborne and the fielder failed to pick up the bounce.
End of 42 overs, Delhi 107/4.
12.55 pm: Shorey times it well and gets a boundary. A neat straight drive off Thakare.
Delhi gets to the 100 run mark in the 39th over.
Himmat Singh is the next man in.
12.35 pm: Delhi skipper Rishabh Pant's luck runs out and is out for 21 (36 balls, 3 fours). He went for a loose shot and paid the price. The ball takes the edge and flies to the wicketkeeper and A.V. Wadkar takes an easy regulation catch off Rajneesh Gurbani. Delhi loses its fourth wicket for 99 on the board.
12.32 pm: Pant is living dangerously here. He tries to drive Thakare through the covers but gets a huge inside edge and the ball goes into the opposite direction.
12.30 pm: Pant tries to heave Thakare and misses it completelty. He is looking to take the attack to the bowlers but Pant needs to do it cautiously. Thakare was coming around the wicket and was pitched in the good length area and Pant missed connecting.
An uneventful 10 minutes as Delhi adds 4 more in 2 overs. Delhi 98/3 in 37 overs.
12.19 pm: A big inside edge for Shorey and he survives a close call. Delhi 94/3 in 35 overs.
12.11 pm: A miscommunication between Pant and Shorey and both the players end up near the non-striker's end. Unfortunately for Vidarbha, the throw was also at the non-striker's end and, the Delhi batsmen also get a run off an overthrow too. The fielder at mid-on was at fault with him taking his eyes off the ball and made a msifield. Had the throw been on the striker's end, the batsman would have been stranded by atleast 10 yards. Delhi 90/3.
The second session is underway here.
The first session comes to an end and the umpires call lunch. Delhi walks off at 89/3 in 33 overs with Rishabh Pant on 16 and Dhruv Shorey on 33 in the middle. It was a dream debut for Aditya Thakare. The Vidarbha bowler, who is a stand-by for the India's U-19 World Cup squad, came in for Umesh Yadav and scalped a couple of wickets to put Delhi under pressure.
11.22 am: Thakare overpitches and Pant has no qualms in driving it to the fence. Pant moves to 14 off 18 balls. Delhi 87/3 in 31 overs.
11.19 am: Pant living dangerously. He flicks one on the leg side and the ball drops just wide of the fielder. Pant gets another boundary. Delhi 83/3.
11.13 am: An excellent shot by Shorey. He gets his front foot off the way and drives it to the fence in the cover region. He is looking in great touch. Delhi 78/3 in 29 overs.
11.07 am: A lucky escape for Pant. He cuts Wakhare uppishly and it is just over the fielder at point. The ball runs away to the fence. Delhi 70/3.
The captain, Rishabh Rant, walks in next and he has a huge task in hand.
11.02 am: Three down for Delhi. Rana takes the long walk back. Thakare is having a dream debut. He pitches in line, the ball would have gone and clipped the leg stump, and Rana is out for 21 and Delhi 65/3.
11.00 am: Rana with the leg glance and the ball just drops short of Faiz Fazal.
10. 56 am: End of 25 overs, Delhi 59/2 with Dhruv Shorey on 24 off 70 balls and Nitish Rana on 18 off 39 balls.
10.50 am: Rana steps out and connects it clean. The ball soars over the bowler's head and lands beyond the ropes. The first maximum of the game. Delhi 59/2.
Faiz Fazal introduces left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate into the attack.
10.44 am: Shorey shows the straight face of the bat and the ball runs away to the boundary in a flash and that brings the fifty up for Delhi. 52/2 in the 23rd over.
10.33 am: 19 overs down, Delhi at 46 for the loss of two wickets.
10.17 am: End of 16 overs, Delhi 43/2 and it is drinks.
Second boundary, in as many balls, for Rana. Thakare slightly bowls on the leg side and Rana glances it and the ball races away to the boundary. Delhi 41/2.
10.09 am: Thakare gets the ball to nip around, the ball takes the leading edge off Rana and its just away from the fielder at gully and runs away to the boundary. Delhi 37/2.
10.07 am: End of 14 overs, Delhi in a spot of bother in the Ranji Trophy final at 33/2.
Nitish Rana walks in. Dhruv Shorey at the other end.
10.00 am:Gambhir is out and Wahare gets his 200th wicket. The ball, an arm ball, just thuds on to his pads and rattles the timber. What a wicket as the southpaw departs for 15 (38) and Delhi loses its second wicket for 30.
Akshay Wakhare, on 199 wickets in 58 matches, is into the attack now.
9.54 am: The ball is on Gambhir's pads and he just flicks it towards the vacant midwicket area for four. The slightest of mistake from Neral and it proves to be costly. Gambhir is on 14 off 32 balls and Delhi 27/1 in the 12th over.
9.51 am: Thakare just bowls on the leg side and is punished by Shorey. The fine leg is a tad wide and the ball races to the boundary. Shorey moves on to 12 and Delhi 23/1 in the 11th over.
9.49 am: What a ball from Thakare. Just beats Shorey as it moves away from the batsman late.
End of 10 overs, Delhi 19/1.
9.43 am: Shorey has showed good character here. He shows the full face of the bat and pushes the ball towards the mid off area and the ball runs away to the fence. He has been solid here. He is good technically, playing close to his body and that is the key.
Neral starts off with a maiden over. Delhi 11/1 in 8 overs.
9.36 am: Siddesh Neral with the ball and he straightaway means business. He takes the ball away from Gambhir and is looking good here.
Vidarbha has played eight matches this season, winning six and drawling two. What a season for the team!
9.35 am: An uneventful two overs for both the teams. Delhi 11/1 in 7 overs.
That's the end of the fifth over, Delhi 10/1.
9.21 am: Thakare gets the ball swinging inside and the ball thuds on to Gambhir's pads. The batsman offers no shot. Half a shout from the bowler and the close-in fielders and the umpire gives it not out. A good decision, the ball just going over the stumps. And the next ball, another half shout, this time the ball misses the leg stump.
9.20 am: What a shot by Gambhir. Just eases into the drive pierces the infield and the ball races to the ropes. Delhi 9/1 in 3 overs.
It is the first session that is important for Delhi. Shorey and Gambhir must ensure that they see off the first session without any hiccups.
9.15 am: A huge appeal marks the end of another splendid over from 19-year-old Thakare, as he nearly gets Gautam Gambhir off a peach of a delivery.
9.04 am: What a start for Vidarbha! A wicket off the fourth ball of the day. Aditya Thakare induces Kunal Chandela into the drive and the ball gets the edge and Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazal makes no mistake in the slips. Chandela goes for no score and Delhi 1/1. Dhruv Shorey walks in next.
9.00 am: Aditya Thakare, the debutant, starts things off with a no-ball. That's an interesting start to the day!
8.55 am: Gautam Gambhir and Kunal Chandela out to bat. Gambhir has hit the ground without even attending the practice session on Thursday.
8.49 am: Here's the playing XI for both teams.
8.30: The Vidarbha side, led by the talented Faiz Fazal has won the toss and has elected to field.
The iconic Holkar Stadium was witness to Gujarat’s meteoric rise in the final of the Ranji Trophy last season, when it outclassed heavyweight Mumbai to clinch the coveted title for the first time.
And now, the same venue is host to yet one more Ranji Trophy summit clash where another young side, Vidarbha, will be chasing history. While this would be the first-ever Ranji Trophy final for the Faiz Fazal-led side, for the opponent, Delhi, too, this is a chance to end a 10-year long jinx. ( Click here to read more of the preview )
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