Revival: Sumit’s century scripts an inspiring turnaround in fortunes. , Photo Courtesy: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
Delhi realized their first outright win of the Ranji Trophy season after a dramatic turnaround on Monday at the end of the third day of the match against Assam at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
When the umpires announced stumps on Sunday evening, the hosts were trailing by 116 runs in the first innings with four wickets remaining. By Monday evening, fortunes had changed considerably – Assam had not only taken a lead of 124 runs, but were also 44 for three in the second innings. Delhi will have to first overcome the deficit of 80 runs to avoid defeat when asked to bat again.
The credit for Delhi’s dominant day goes to the unmatched pair of Sumit Mathur and Siddhant Sharma. Although his primary skill is with the ball, he showed his all-round utility by making a partnership of 166 runs from 235 balls for the eighth wicket.
Left-arm spinner Mathur, who took nine wickets in his Ranji debut against Odisha last season, scored his maiden first-class century in his second appearance.
Left-arm fast bowler Siddhant, playing his third game, was also not far away from the three-figure mark. He scored 89 runs, which helped Delhi reach 454. The turnaround in the lower order began with Harshit Rana’s half-century in the morning session, which was completed by Mukhtar Hussain’s swing.
Apart from the three wickets Assam lost on Monday, there will be some worry about captain Danish Das in their dressing room. On his very first ball, a ball from Himanshu Chauhan hit him on his stomach, due to which he had to retire hurt. Later he was taken to a nearby hospital. “Das has received an injection. The scan will be done there. He is fine. He is able to speak and walk. We have to see if he can bat again in this match,” Assam manager Sudeep Chakravarthy said.
Score: Assam- 1st innings: 330
Delhi – 1st innings: Gagan Vats lbw b Hussain 0, Sanat Sangwan lbw b Purkayastha 47, Yash Dhull c Mandal b Purkayastha 47, Himmat Singh b Purkayastha 55, Jonty Sidhu c Danish b Rahul 13, Pranav Rajvanshi lbw b Rahul 12, Sumit Mathur c Danish b Rahul 112 , Harshit Rana c Ghadigaonkar b Hussain 59, Siddhant Sharma c Danish b Rahul 89, Money Grewal c Ghadigaonkar b Mrinmoy 6, Himanshu Chauhan (not out) 0; Extras (b-4, lb-9, nb-1): 14; Total (in 122.5 overs): 454.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-66, 3-147, 4-156, 5-166, 6-182, 7-281, 8-447, 9-454.
Assam’s bowling: Hussain 22-5-75-2, Mrinmoy 18-2-73-1, Bhargava 10-0-59-0, Purkayastha 26-2-98-3, Rahul 35.5-4-108-4, Sibsankar 9-2- 15-0, Danish 2-0-13-0.
Assam – 2nd innings: Subham Mandal lbw b Sidhu 18, Rishav Das c Himmat b Rana 10, Abhishek Thakuri lbw b Grewal 9, Danish Das (retired hurt) 0, Sibsankar Roy (batting) 4, Bhargav Dutta (batting) 0; Extra (B-3): 3; Total (for three wickets in 15 overs): 44.
Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-34, 3-44.
Delhi bowling: Rana 4-0-18-1, Grewal 6-1-15-1, Chauhan 3-0-7-0, Mathur 1-0-1-0, Sidhu 1-1-0-1.
published – October 28, 2024 10:09 pm IST