Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Delhi bowlers flourish but Ayush, Sanjeet help Chhattisgarh take control on day 1

From 150/2 to 217/6, with Sanjeet Desai retired hurt, Chhattisgarh faced the threat of collapse. However, Ajay Mandal and Shubham Agrawal played crucial knocks to take Chhatisgarh to 277/6 at the end of day one.

FILE: Ayush Pandey’s 149-ball 89 included 14 fours and one six. | Photo Credit: MOORTHY G

Ayush Pandey’s modest First-Class scores — 0, 0, 0, 20, 13, and 25 — gave no indication of the storm he was about to unleash. However, on Friday, the Chhattisgarh opener lit up the Ranji Trophy stage with a scintillating knock of 89, turning the tide in a gripping Group D contest against Delhi at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium.

Delhi had initially gained the upper hand. After being asked to bowl first, Simarjeet Singh claimed Bhupen Lalwani’s wicket in the seventh over with an inswinger that pierced his defence — Delhi’s third consecutive maiden — leaving Chhattisgarh at eight for one.

Then came Pandey.

In the eighth over, he took on India pacer Navdeep Saini, hammering five boundaries that stunned both the bowler and the fielders.

First, two exquisite cover drives off good-length balls set the tone. Pandey then launched a towering six over deep fine leg. A visibly rattled Saini delivered two more short-pitched balls, which Pandey dispatched with authority to the boundary at wide long-on and deep forward square leg.

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By stumps, Chhattisgarh had clawed its way back into the match, finishing the day firmly in control at 277/6.

Following Pandey’s assault, Delhi skipper Himmat Singh acted quickly, bringing on Himanshu Chauhan to partner Simarjeet. Both bowlers worked in tandem, maintaining a disciplined line and length, primarily targeting off-stump. Simarjeet occasionally delivered bouncers to unsettle the batters.

Their persistence paid off when Chauhan tempted Ashutosh Singh into a check drive, resulting in an edge safely caught by wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat.

Pandey found stability with his new partner, Sanjeet Desai. Over the next two hours, the pair — maintaining a run rate of over 3.5 per over — made run-scoring look easy. Sanjeet worked the field with singles and doubles, while Pandey capitalised on loose deliveries, bringing up his maiden FC fifty.

Pandey’s 95-run stand with Sanjeet for the third wicket came to an end when Ayush Badoni trapped him lbw with his first delivery.

Badoni’s golden arm continued to deliver for Delhi as he dismissed Chhattisgarh’s captain Amandeep Khare in similar fashion — bowling full and quick, deceiving the batter in front of the wickets.

Sanjeet then stabilised the innings with his composed fifty, taking Chhattisgarh to 188/4 by tea. However, he had to be stretchered off at the start of the final session due to leg cramps. Chhattisgarh’s woes deepened when two experienced players, Shashank Singh and Eknath Kerkar, were dismissed in quick succession — both falling lbw to the spinners.

From 150/2 to 217/6, with Desai retired hurt, Chhattisgarh faced the threat of collapse. However, Ajay Mandal and Shubham Agrawal played crucial lower-order knocks, adding an unbeaten 60-run stand for the seventh wicket, salvaging the innings and keeping Delhi at bay.