Ranji Trophy: Delhi has to be content with first-innings lead

Every round of the Ranji Trophy comprises a wide spectrum of results. There are nail-chewing humdingers. There are one-sided hammerings. Dreary draws, the least appealing of them all, are also part of the First-Class competition’s fabric.

The Elite Group-C face-off between Delhi and Gujarat at the Palam ‘B’ ground belonged to that last category. As is generally the case in these high-scoring affairs that culminate in a draw, the placid pitch seemed to be the most decisive element.

It meant that the host, after winning the toss and amassing 648 for six declared, couldn’t push for an outright win. It had to be content with three points after bundling out Gujarat for 479 to secure a first-innings lead of 169 runs. That, too, took an almighty effort, with Ayush Badoni & Co. spending 174.1 overs on the field.

Delhi still enforced the follow-on in the hope of a few quick breakthroughs, but once Gujarat reached 15 for one in eight overs at the scheduled tea break, both teams decided to exchange handshakes and rest their weary legs and tired minds.

Off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen endured the biggest workload, delivering as many as 53 overs in the first essay and another four in the second. But any possible soreness was supplanted by sheer delight once he claimed his maiden five-wicket haul in First Class cricket. On a deck offering very little assistance for the spinners, Shokeen finished with five for 143 at an economy of 2.7 in the first dig.

When Shokeen dismissed overnight batter Manan Hingrajia to reduce Gujarat to 385 for six inside the opening hour, Delhi would have hoped for the remaining batters to wither away. But skipper Chintan Gaja, who had made 41 on day three, went on to contribute 82 and prolong the innings with the lower-order. It frustrated Delhi, but perhaps not as much as the nature of the surface did.

The scores:

Delhi — 1st innings: 648 for six decl.

Gujarat — 1st innings: Abhishek Desai c Doseja b Shokeen 34, Aarya Desai c Dhull b Shokeen 11, Vedant Trivedi c Rawat b Divij 38, Manan Hingrajia c Mathur b Shokeen 123, Urvil Patel c Badoni b Shokeen 23, Jaymeet Patel c Sanat b Saini 72, Chintan Gaja c & b Mathur 82, Vishal Jayswal c & b Mathur 21, Harshal Patel c Rawat b Shokeen 5, Arzan Nagwaswalla (not out) 10, Siddharth Desai b Grewal 6; Extras (b-34, lb-11, w-6, nb-3): 54; Total (in 174.1 overs): 479.

Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-79, 3-118, 4-153, 5-277, 6-385, 7-443, 8-444, 9-450.

Delhi bowling: Divij 18-4-45-1, Saini 23-5-50-1, Shokeen 53-11-143-5, Grewal 19.1-3-53-1, Badoni 19-3-57-0, Mathur 25-6-51-2, Priyansh 12-2-23-0, Doseja 5-0-12-0.

Gujarat — 2nd innings: Abhishek Desai (not out) 9, Aarya Desai lbw b Divij 2, Vedant Trivedi (not out) 0; Extras (b-4): 4; Total (for one wkt. in eight overs): 15.

Fall of wicket: 1-6.

Delhi bowling: Shokeen 4-2-6-0, Divij 4-2-5-1.

PoM: Priyansh Arya.