Saurashtra defeated Delhi
In the fourth round of the Ranji Trophy, Elite Group B, played in Rajkot, Saurashtra defeated Delhi by an innings and 214 runs to earn seven points and strengthen its chances of advancing to the quarterfinals. After Saurashtra proclaimed their score to be 574/8, putting Delhi in a position where they were 441 runs behind, it was clear that the visiting side had an uphill battle. Hrithik Shokeen has again shown that he has the stomach for a battle, just like he has throughout the game. After being moved up to position No. 3, he amassed his fifty points using a variety of drives and flicks.
An otherwise one-sided competition was made more interesting by his one-on-one matchup with Jaydev Unadkat. In spite of this, his firing off Chirag Jani before tea for being caught behind was essentially the last nail in the coffin.
After being dismissed for 133 in 35 overs thanks to Unadkat’s astonishingly economical eight-wicket haul, the openers for Delhi shown a great deal more grit and determination in their second innings. Despite being dismissed for 133 in just 35 overs. Ayush Badoni faced up against Unadkat, and he ended up hitting his new partner on the Lucknow Super Giants for a six and a four. However, the resistance only lasted for a short while. Badoni’s tenure was brought to an end by a deft stumping performed by Harvik Desai after he and Dhruv Shorey had accumulated 67 runs for the first wicket together.
Dodiya
In the following over, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya delivered a perfect ball to strike out Shorey. Dodiya, who took 5 for 91, delivered another blow before lunch when he had Yash Dhull caught at slip. The additional bounce caused the Delhi captain to be out of position. Dodiya got 5 for 91. The 0 and 4 that Dhull scored were a reflection of the broader predicament that his team was in, which was to be all out for 227.
In the morning, it was debilitatingly windy and cruelly cold, and Delhi looked resigned to the fact that it did not have adequate bowling wherewithal to overcome Saurashtra’s batting depth. This was the case despite the fact that Delhi did not have sufficient bowling wherewithal. In the opening hour, when spinners Lalit Yadav and Ashish Nehra took the field, its selections became more apparent.
Shokeen Shokeen, who had been subjected to an overwhelming amount of labour, worked in tandem for the first forty-five minutes. There was not a single over completed by the pacers.
The duo Arpit Vasavada and lively Unadkat, who produced an energetic 68-ball 70, seemed to have benefited from this development.
On Wednesday, when Unadkat’s top order was putting pressure on a feeble Delhi bowling attack, he was preparing for throwdowns in the practise nets while simultaneously muttering, “Oh bhai, hope I don’t have to bat.” It’s funny how things work out sometimes (smiles)