Ranji Trophy | Delhi batters disappoint despite getting starts against Assam

Not for the first time this season, Delhi was guilty of an underwhelming display with the bat despite a few of its players getting starts. The result at the end of day two was that the home side trails Assam by 116 runs with four wickets remaining in the first innings in the Ranji Trophy clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

At 214 for six in response to the visitor’s 330, Delhi faces an uphill battle to even claim first-innings honours when play resumes on Monday. Skipper Himmat Singh hit 55 while Yash Dhull and Sanat Sangwan contributed 47 each, but neither of them was able to carry on and produce the sort of three-figure score that Sumit Ghadigaonkar did for Assam.

Off the very first ball of its innings, Delhi was rocked by the dismissal of Gagan Vats. Dhull and Sangwan seemed to steady the ship by adding 66 runs for the second wicket in just 74 balls.

But in the first over after the lunch break, Dhull spurned a glorious opportunity for a big score, particularly with national selector Ajay Ratra watching from the media enclosure, by driving off-spinner Sarupam Purkayastha to Subham Mandal at cover.

Himmat and Sangwan, too, looked assured during the minutes they spent at the crease. To Delhi’s frustration, however, it wasn’t anywhere near sufficient to serve its interest.

At the start of another bright day, Delhi’s bowlers had done their job by taking the remaining four Assam wickets fairly quickly.

A notable highlight was Himmat’s catch to dismiss Mukhtar Hussain. When Hussain miscued his shot against Himanshu Chauhan, Himmat, stationed somewhere between mid-off and long-off, swung into action. He ran back a few metres while following the trajectory of the ball all along, eventually putting in a full-length dive to complete an excellent catch.

The innings was wrapped up when Harshit Rana claimed his five-for with a full ball to Mrinmoy Dutta that clattered the stumps.

The scores:

Assam — 1st innings: Rishav Das c Rajvanshi b Rana 33, Subham Mandal c Dhull b Rana 0, Abhishek Thakuri c Sangwan b Rana 0, Denish Das c Mathur b Grewal 18, Sibsankar Roy c Sangwan b Mathur 59, Sumit Ghadigaonkar c Siddhant b Chauhan 162, Sarupam Purkayastha c Himmat b Rana 7, Bhargav Dutta b Siddhant 11, Mukhtar Hussain c Himmat b Chauhan 12, Mrinmoy Dutta b Rana 6, Rahul Singh (not out) 0; Extras (b-12, lb-6, w-1, nb-3): 22; Total (in 91.3 overs): 330.

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-1, 3-52, 4-59, 5-223, 6-246, 7-280, 8-311, 9-326.

Delhi bowling: Rana 19.3-3-80-5, Siddhant 17-5-49-1, Chauhan 18-3-62-2, Grewal 13-1-42-1, Mathur 23-4-79-1, Sidhu 1-1-0-0.

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 Denish b Rahul 13, Pranav Rajvanshi lbw b Rahul 12, Sumit Mathur (batting) 19, Harshit Rana (batting) 15; Extras (lb-6): 6, Total (for six wkts. in 62 overs): 214.

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-66, 3-147, 4-156, 5-166, 6-182.

Assam bowling: Hussain 16-4-58-1, Mrinmoy 8-2-38-0, Bhargav 6-0-34-0, Purkayastha 17-1-46-3, Rahul 15-3-32-2.