Vidarbha to go for kill vs Delhi after Sathish ton
NEW DELHI: Ganesh Sathish smashed his 15th first-class hundred as defending champions Vidarbha produced a powerpacked batting performance raising hopes of an outright victory over a depleted Delhi after third day’s play in the Ranji Trophy on Tuesday.
The seasoned campaigner scored 100 off 92 balls and added 148 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket stand with Akshay Wadkar (70 off 82 balls) in little over 24 overs.
Delhi, playing without an injured Ishant Sharma, looked listless on a placid track where Vidarbha set a target of 347. Delhi were 10/0 at stumps.
For the hosts, a poor show in this match will certainly dent their hopes of qualifying among top five teams from the crosspool (group A and B). On the other hand, Vidarbha’s outright win will be a giant stride towards quarter-final.
While Faiz Fazal (43 off 68 balls) and Sanjay Raghunath (57 off 153 balls) gave a steady start, Sathish, who hit 11 fours and two sixes got the advantage of facing friendly seam-up stuff from Nitish Rana and part-time off-spin from Lalit Yadav. Wadkar hit seven fours and the moment Sathish reached his hundred, Vidarbha made a declaration.
BENGAL WIN
KOLKATA:ROOKIE spin all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed shone with a first-innings hat-trick in a sixwicket match haul as Bengal thrashed a sloppy Hyderabad by an innings and 303 runs for their first win.
The 25-year-old, who was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2020 edition of the IPL, claimed the feat in his seventh Ranji appearance. Shahbaz (4/26) ran through the Hyderabad lower order to help his side bundle out the visitors for 171 in their first innings. Following on, Hyderabad were all out for 161 with Shahbaz returning figures of 2/51.
Shahbaz became the seventh player from Bengal, and first since India pacer Mohammed Shami, to claim a Ranji Trophy hat-trick. Shami had achieved the milestone against Madhya Pradesh in 2012-13.
Rookie pacer Akash Deep (4/38) was the star in Hyderabad’s second essay as they were bundled out in 46.2 overs. Bengal had scored 635/7 in their first innings.
Having made his debut against Andhra three matches ago after Ashok Dinda was sacked for misconduct, Akash Deep took two wickets in his first two overs before his senior partner Mukesh Kumar (1/29) and Shahbaz got into the act.
Having lost to Vidarbha inside two days in their last outing, Bengal with this bonus point victory (19 points from five matches) now have bounced back in contention for a knockout berth.
Bengal will take on Delhi at Eden Gardens from January 27, which will be their last home match.
“We played immaculate cricket. Wicket didn’t turn at all when we expected it to turn. Hats off to our pacers they bowled with a lot of venom. We won the match yesterday itself by taking five wickets,” coach and mentor Arun Lal said.
SARFARAZ HITS TON
MUMBAI:YOUNG Sarfaraz Khan hit an unbeaten century as Mumbai fought back on the third day of their Ranji Trophy game against Uttar Pradesh. UP had posted a mammoth 625/8 in their first essay, courtesy Upendra Yadav’s unbeaten double hundred (203 not out).
Mumbai resumed the day on their overnight score of 20/2 and had a mountain to climb. Siddhesh Lad (98 off 174 balls; 10x4x1x6) and 22-year-old Sarfaraz (132 not out off 160 balls; 14x4; 4x6) gave Mumbai the confidence that UPS first-inning score could be overhauled.
BRIEF SCORES: In Delhi: Vidarbha 179 and 330/3 decl (Ganesh Sathish 100 not out, Akshay Wadkar 70). Delhi 163 and 10/0.
In Kalyani: In Bengal 635/7 decl. Hyderabad 171; 46.3 overs (Jaweed Ali 72; Shahbaz Ahmed 4/26, Mukesh Kumar 3/37, Akash Deep 3/66) and 161; 46.2 overs (Ravi Teja 53; Akash Deep 4/38). Bengal won by an innings and 303 runs.
In Valsad: Gujarat 281 and 167. Punjab 229 and 87/4.