Ranji Trophy 2022: Dhull caps off dream debut with consecutive hundreds; Pujara slams 91 to bail out Saurasthra

Rajkot/Guwahati/Thiruvananthapuram/Rohtak/Ahmedabad/Chennai/Cuttack/New Delhi: India U-19 star Yash Dhull capped off a dream first-class debut by scoring his second hundred of the game as the Ranji Trophy Group H match between Delhi and Tamil Nadu ended in a draw here on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_10392911” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Dhull scored an unbeaten 113 off 202 balls on the fourth and final day. Image Courtesy: @BCCIdomestic[/caption] With his unbeaten 113 off 202 balls on the fourth and final day, Dhull became only the third batter after Nari Contractor (1952/53) and Virag Awate (2012/13) to score a hundred in each innings on Ranji Trophy debut. After Shahrukh Khan got Tamil Nadu the all-important first innings lead with a sensational 194 off 148 balls on day three, Dhull and his senior opening partner Dhruv Shorey (107 off 165) batted for 60.5 overs to take Delhi to 228 for no loss in the second innings before the players shook hands for a draw. Dhull, who came into the game straight from the U-19 World Cup triumph in the Caribbean and with no recent red ball cricket under his belt, instantly showed that he belonged to the first-class level. His second hundred of the match came in easier batting conditions. With Delhi under pressure at seven for two on day one, the 19-year-old showed remarkable skill and maturity to bail the team out of trouble and help them to 452 along with Lalit Yadav. Courtesy Shahrukh’s display of brutal hitting, Tamil Nadu gained three points compared to Delhi’s one after reaching 494 in their first innings. Delhi face Jharkhand in their second game from 24 February. After the game, Delhi coach Raj Kumar Sharma, who is also the childhood coach of Virat Kohli, said Dhull should be fast-tracked into the Indian team. “He is ready for the next level (India) game-wise. I would like to fast track him. When he spends time with senior players in the India setup, he will only become a better player. “Yash has shown he can dominate in white ball cricket and at the same has the game to do well in the longer version. “It was a dream debut for him. We were under pressure early on day one and the way he dominated the likes of Sandeep Warrier was a sight. Tamil Nadu had us under pressure but his temperament stood out,” Sharma told PTI. The coach also picked his opening day hundred out of the two he made in the game as it came after Tamil Nadu put them in to bat in testing conditions. Sharma said his team played well and Shahrukh’s knock separated the two sides. “He played some unbelievable shots and took the game away from us. If it was not for him, the first innings lead was ours. The wicket became better and better as the game progressed and by day four there was no help for the bowlers.” Delhi bowling will be bolstered by the return of India pacers Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini. Ishant, who has been dropped for the Sri Lanka series next month, has started training after completing his five-day quarantine. “Ishant has started training and his and Navdeep’s availability for the next game is good news for us and strengthens the bowling significantly,” Sharma added. Ishant had earlier made himself unavailable for selection for the league games. Pujara slams 91 to bail out Saurasthra Less than 24 hours after being dropped from the India Test squad, Cheteshwar Pujara struck an uncharacteristic 83-ball 91 for Saurashtra in their Ranji Trophy match against Mumbai here on Sunday. The Elite Group D match ended in a draw with Saurahtra making 372 for nine in their second innings on the fourth and final day. Saurashtra were only 48 runs ahead when the stumps were drawn but the lack of time meant Mumbai could not go for an outright victory. So the record 41-time winners settled for three points from the game for taking the first-innings lead while defending champions Saurashtra bagged one. Bowling his slow left-arm spin to good effect, Shams Mulani returned career-best figures of 7/114, adding to his four wickets in the Saurashtra first innings. On Saturday, senior batters Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were dropped from the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, starting from March 4 in Mohali after an inconsistent run. The seasoned Pujara has managed just 602 runs at 24.08 in 14 Tests over the last one year. Pujara, who last scored a Test century on the 2018-19 tour of Australia, got out for a duck in the first innings of this match, even as Rahane made a hundred. However, on the final day of the match, Pujara played freely and found the fence at will while maintaining a strike rate of over 100, something very rare when it comes to the man from Rajkot, who is known for his solid defensive game. In all, Pujara struck 16 fours and a six during his stay in the middle. Wicketkeeper-opener Snell Patel (98) missed out on a century by just two runs, out caught by Shams Mulani off the bowling of experienced seamer Dhawal Kulkarni. Patel’s opener partner, Harvik Desai made 62 as the duo added 163 runs for the first wicket in a much-improved batting effort. Pujara added 101 runs for the fourth wicket with Vishvaraj Jadeja, whose contribution in the partnership was a mere 16. Mumbai had made 544 for seven declared in their first innings and then enforced follow-on on Saurashtra after bowling them out for 220.   Kartikeya’s fifer helps Madhya Pradesh rout Gujarat Left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya Singh returned a five-wicket haul after Shubham Sharma hit a gritty unbeaten ton as Madhya Pradesh recorded an emphatic 106-run win over Gujarat in their Elite Group A Ranji Trophy game, here on Sunday. Madhya Pradesh had conceded first innings lead to Gujarat but the central team then fought back with gusto, putting 251 in their second essay with Shubham scoring an unbeaten 103. Kartikeya Singh (5/34) then spun the web around the Gujarat batters, as the team was shot out for a meagre 88 in their second essay in just 37.5 overs. Gujarat chased a 195-run target for an outright win but none of their batters could make a substantial contribution as they made a beeline to the changing room at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium in Khandheri. Skipper Priyank Panchal (5) became Kartikeya Singh’s first victim and he soon removed one-down Bhargav Merai (0). Experienced Ishwar Chandra Pandey (2/28) played his part to perfection as he sent back Karan Patel and Manprit Juneja. Patel’s patient 27 only delayed the inevitable but an all-round show from the Aditya Srivastava-led side fetched them six points. Shubham (2/7) and Gaurav Yadav (1/17) also shared the spoils. Gujarat next take on Kerala, who thrashed Meghalaya, while MP will square off against Meghalaya, beginning 24 February. Rajasthan, Uttarakhand begin campaign with victories Rajasthan opened their campaign in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group E with an emphatic 158-run win over Andhra on the fourth and final day of the match here on Sunday. Chasing 368 for victory, Andhra were bowled out 209 in 53.3 overs with Shubham Sharma (4 for 32) and Aniket Choudhary (3 for 50) doing most of the damage. Resuming at 100 for four on the final day, Andhra’s slim hopes of salvaging the match evaporated quickly as Ricky Bhui fell to Choudhary after having added eight runs to his overnight score. Yara Sandeep, the other not-out batsman, fell on the same score of 120 when Anirudh Singh had him caught by Tanveer Ul-Haq for 43. It was all over for Andhra who slipped to 120 for six. Pinnati Tapaswi (44, 6 fours, 1 six) and Manish Golamaru (29) put on 67 runs for the seventh wicket to delay the inevitable. The last three wickets including that of Tapaswi fell for just one run as Sharma picked up two more scalps while Ul-Haq finished things off by dismissing C V Stephen (0). In the group’s other match, Uttarakhand, who won the toss and sent their opponents Services into bat, bowled them out for 176 in the first innings before making 248 in their outing. Batting a second time, Services only managed 204, leaving their opponents with a victory target of 133. Skipper Jay Bista remained unbeaten on 87 to guide Uttarakhand to a comfortable nine-wicket win. Maharashtra thrash Assam by innings and seven runs Experienced left-arm spinner Satyajeet Bachhav snared seven wickets to help his team Maharashtra thrash Assam by an innings and seven runs in their Elite Group G Ranji Trophy match here on Sunday. Asked to follow on after being shot out for 248 in their first innings, Assam were bundled out for a meagre 160 in their second essay, as Bachhav (7/45) spun a web around the opposition batting line-up to give his side a bonus-point win. Bachhav took 11 wickets in the match and played a key role in the victory alongside debutant Pawan Shah, whose double hundred propelled Maharashtra to a mammoth 415 in their first innings. Assam started on their overnight score of 82/3, with Riyan Parag (56; 6x4) and Sarupam Purkayastha (38; 6x4) holding fort. The duo tried to take the game deep by adding 72 runs for the fourth wicket, but the task facing them was very difficult as Maharashtra pegged Assam back by removing both the set batters in quick succession. First, Manoj Ingle (2/29) sent back Parag, and then, Bachhav removed Purkayastha as Assam slipped to 144/5. Then it was the Bachhav show, as he ran through the tail at the Chaudhary Bansilal Stadium. Bachhav was ably supported by Ingle and Divyang Hinganekar (1/7), who played their roles to perfection. Karnataka-Railways match ends in a draw; J&K starts with win over Pondicherry Karnataka and Railways played out a draw in a Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match while Jammu and Kashmir began on a winning note, trouncing Pondicherry by eight wickets, here on Sunday. Resuming at 63 for one, Karnataka slipped from 179 for 2 to 223 for 9 before skipper Manish Pandey declared, leaving the opponent with a 278-run target from 41 overs for an improbable victory. The Railways finished at 69 for 4. With Mayank Agarwal batting on 39, the focus was on how much the India Test batter could get. Having missed out in the first innings, the right-hander played with a lot of restraint and reached a half-century. It took a good catch by Akshat Pandey to see the back of Agarwal for 56. R Samarth batted fluently for his 83 (170 balls, 8 fours) and was involved in a half-century stand for the third wicket with K Siddharth, who hit a ton in the first innings. After the exit of Siddharth at 179 and then Samarth at 192, the Karnataka innings saw wickets fall quickly and slid to 223 for 9 before Pandey declared. For Railways, medium-pacer Amit Mishra finished with 4 for 58 while captain Karn Sharma took three wickets. Railways, in the second innings, slumped to 14 for 3 with debutant Vijayakumar Vyshak (2/16) sending back Mrunal Devdhar (20) and Arindam Ghosh (0). Vivek Singh (18) batted resolutely along with Mohammad Saif (27 not out) to ensure there were no further alarms. Karnataka picked three points for their efforts while Railways earned one point. In the other match of the day, veteran spinner Parvez Rasool finished with a six-wicket haul, dismissing the last Pondicherry batsman to star in Jammu and Kashmir’s win. Resuming at the overnight score of 113 for 9, Pondicherry added 11 runs to the score before Sagar Trivedi (37) became Rasool’s sixth victim in the second innings. Needing 42 runs to begin the season with a win, J&K lost the openers - Qamran Iqbal (8) and Jatin Wadhwan (9) before Shubham Pundir (21 not out) and Ian Dev Singh (6 not out) saw the team home. Bengal bounce back to stun Baroda  All-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed and debutant wicketkeeper Abhishek Porel struck unbeaten fifties as Bengal bounced back after their first-innings debacle to secure a dramatic four-wicket win over Baroda in their Ranji Trophy Group B opener here on Sunday. Chasing 349 on the fourth day after being shot out for a paltry 88 in the first innings, Bengal rode on the duo of Ahmed and Porel, who stitched an unbroken 108-run partnership for the seventh wicket to steer their team home. Resuming on 146/2, Bengal received an early jolt when skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran got out without any addition to his overnight total of 79 in the fourth ball of the day. There were familiar jitters in the middle with Bengal losing three quick wickets including the duo of Sudip Chatterjee (18) and overnight batter Anustup Majumdar (33) in the space of four balls to be 176/5. Medium pacer Abhimanyusingh Rajput (3/73) revived Baroda’s hopes with the double blow. But Bengal’s deputy sports minister and former skipper Manoj Tiwary, who made a return to cricket after his foray into politics last year, arrested the slide with a fighting 37 from 61 balls before becoming Rajput’s third victim. Tottering at 242/6, Bengal unearthed a future star in the 19-year-old Abhishek, who showed utmost maturity and matched his senior partner, Shahbaz. Abhishek hit seven boundaries en route to his maiden fifty. Shahbaz also hit an identical seven fours – all through the off-side region – as the pair sealed the issue in 91.3 overs. “It feels incredible. Wanted to start well for the senior team and as always it feels great to win for Bengal. There was some pressure but teammates, seniors helped a lot, and advised to play my normal game. “Shahbaz da (brother) guided me while we were batting on the wicket. I played according to our plan and played my normal game,” Abhishek said about his dream debut. Bengal skipper Easwaran praised both the batters and bowlers for the remarkable comeback. “Every player has contributed to the cause, as the batters have shown character the bowlers have done commendable jobs too,” Abhimanyu said. “It’s about believing in the hqard work that we have put in. The best part is even when we had 349 runs to chase, every single member of the team believed that we can do the job. “Shahbaz has batted with a lot of responsibility, special mention to Abhishek Porel- the character he showed, the attitude he was batting with was great to watch,” the skipper added. Cricket Association of Bengal president Avishek Dalmiya and secretary Snehasish Ganguly congratulated the team after the win. “This is a team with the right mixture of youth and experience. It is nice to see youngsters like Abhishek Porel who played exceptionally well in his debut match. “The team also showed grit, determination and the will to win against all odds. Shahbaz Ahmed once again showed why he is a fabulous finisher in any format of the game. “Captain Abhimanyu Easwaran led the battle from the front and filled the team with belief. The bowlers also did a fine job restricting Baroda twice. I wish them well in future matches,” Dalmiya said. Snehasish said it’s a result of their focus on developing the youth. “We are putting thrust on youngsters and are doing leagues like T20 League, U25 emerging players meet and district meets to scout the young talent and harness their potential and watch them flourish.” “The philosophy is to give them a chance and help them mature. I would also like to congratulate coach Arun Lal, his deputy Sourashis Lahiri and the support staff for their contribution,” the CAB secretary added. Vasisht, Thakur slam tons, Himachal eke out hard-fought draw vs Punjab Himachal Pradesh showed strong fightback lower down the order with centuries from Akash Vasisht and Praveen Thakur to salvage a draw against Punjab in their Ranji Trophy group F opener at the Kotla in New Delhi on Sunday. Having conceded a 172-run first innings lead, Himachal Pradesh resumed the final day on 151/5 with left-handed all-rounder Vasisht on overnight 36 as he along with Praveen Thakur stitched a match-saving 172 run partnership for the seventh wicket to eke out a hard-fought draw. Vasisht slammed 15 boundaries en route to his career-best 140 from 196 balls, while wicketkeeper-batter Praveen Thakur struck a fine 103 not out batting at number eight. Punjab settled for three points by virtue of their first innings lead, while Himachal Pradesh returned with one point. Brief Scores: Mumbai: 544/7 declared Saurashtra: 220 and 372/9 in 116 overs (Snell Patel 98, Cheteshwar Pujara 91; Shams Mulani 7/114). Goa: 181 & 394/5d Odisha: 189 & 239/7. Delhi 1st innings: 452 all out and 228 for no loss in 60.5 overs (Yash Dhull 113 not out; Dhruv Shorey 107 not out). Tamil Nadu 1st innings 494 all out in 107.5 overs. Madhya Pradesh 274 all out and 251 all out (Shubham Sharma 103 not out, Rajat Patidar 53; Chintan Gaja 6/48, Siddharth Desai 2/42) beat Gujarat 331 all out and 88 all out (Karan Patel 27, Manprit Juneja 13; Kumar Kartikeya Singh 5/34, Shubham Sharma 2/7) by 106 runs. Services 176 and 204 lost to Uttarakhand 248 and 136 for 1 in 28.3 overs (Jay Bista 87 not out, Kunal Chandela 25 not out) by nine wickets. Uttarakhand: 6 points, Services: 0. Rajasthan 275 and 316 beat Andhra 224 and 209 all out in 53.3 overs (Pinnati Tapaswi 44, Yara Sandeep 43, Ricky Bhui 39, Shubham Sharma 4 for 32, Aniket Choudhary 3 for 50) by 158 runs. Rajasthan: 6 points, Andhra : 0. Maharashtra 415 all out versus Assam 248 and 160 (Riyan Parag 56, Sarupam Purkayastha 38; Satyajeet Bachhav 7/45, Manoj Ingle 2/29). Maharashtra won by an innings and seven runs. Uttar Pradesh 301 all out and 280/6 (Saurabh Kumar 81 not out, Rinku Singh 62 not out; Akshay Wakhare 3/70) versus Vidarbha 548/6 (Faiz Fazal 192, Akshay Wadkar 102 not out; Saurabh Kumar 3/160, Ankit Rajpoot 2/86). Match Drawn, Vidarbha took the first innings lead. Karnataka: 481 & 223 for 9 in 63.2 overs (Mayank Agarwal 56, R Samarth 83, K V Siddharth 39, Amit Mishra 4 for 58, Karn Sharma 3 for 47) drew Railways 426 in 128.3 overs (Arindam Ghosh 105, Mohammad Saif 84) and 69 for 4 in 33 overs (Mohammad Saif 27 not out, V Vyshak 2 for 16). Karnataka: 3 points, Railways: 1 Pondicherry: 343 & 124 all out in 45.5 overs (Sagar Trivedi 37, Parvez Rasool six for 29) lost to Jammu and Kashmir 426 in 114.1 overs (Qamran Iqbal 96, Abdul Samad 103) and 45 for 2 in 12.4 overs by eight wickets. Baroda 181 and 255. Bengal 88 and 350/6; 91.3 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 79, Shahbaz Ahmed 71 not out, Abhishek Porel 53 not out; Abhimanyusingh Rajput 3/73). Bengal won by four wickets. Points: Bengal 4, Baroda 0. Hyderabad 347 and 269/8 declared. Chandigarh 216 and 183; 50.5 overs (Arslan Khan 68; Ravi Teja 6/41). Hyderabad won by 217 runs. Points: Hyderabad 6, Chandigarh 0. Haryana 556 and 81/1. Tripura 436; 159 overs (Samit Gohel 122, Rajat Dey 67). Match drawn. Himachal Pradesh 354 and 402/8; 115.4 overs (Akash Vasisht 140, Praveen Thakur 103 not out, Nikhil Gangta 42). Punjab 526. Match drawn. Points: Punjab 3, Himachal Pradesh 1. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.