Raipur: Delhi began their Ranji Trophy campaign with a solid performance, securing three points in their Group D opener against Chhattisgarh, thanks to a fine bowling display by Navdeep Saini on the final day. Saini’s sharp spell briefly kept Delhi’s hopes of an outright victory alive, but the match ended in a draw after Chhattisgarh batted out the last session.
Jonty Sidhu’s second career century had earlier helped Delhi take a narrow first-innings lead, posting 357 in response to Chhattisgarh’s 343. Starting the final day at 33 without loss, Chhattisgarh reached 179 for 6 in 60 overs when both captains, Amandeep Khare of Chhattisgarh and Delhi’s Himmat Singh, decided to call it a day with no clear result in sight.
Under new head coach Sarandeep Singh, Delhi’s start to the season can be seen as a positive one, especially given their struggles in the previous two seasons. On the fourth morning, it was Saini’s five-over burst that shook Chhattisgarh’s top order, dismissing Aayush Pandey and Eknath Kerkar in quick succession. By lunch, Chhattisgarh had lost five wickets and were barely ahead with a lead of less than 100 runs.
However, Khare and Ajay Mandal staged a stubborn defense, putting up a 38-run partnership over 17.4 overs for the sixth wicket. Though Saini eventually trapped Khare leg-before with the old ball, Mandal and Bhupen Lalwani batted out another 9.2 overs, ensuring that Chhattisgarh held on for a draw and earned a single point.
Brief Scores:
Chhattisgarh: 343 and 179/6
Points: Delhi 3, Chhattisgarh 1
In other matches:
Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu 367 beat Saurashtra (203 and 94 all out) by an innings and 70 runs. Points: Tamil Nadu 7, Saurashtra 0.
Guwahati: Jharkhand 361 and 74/3 drew with Assam (180 and 355). Points: Jharkhand 3, Assam 1.
