Shorey ton rescues Delhi in Ranji final versus Vidarbha
INDORE: Delhi, playing their first Ranji Trophy final in a decade, stood in a precarious position against Vidarbha on Day 1. At 99/4, the seven-time champions stared at a low total at Indore’s Holkar Stadium, until Dhruv Shorey and Himmat Singh came to the rescue.
The duo strung a 105-run stand to help Delhi reach a respectable 271/6 at stumps against Vidarbha, playing their maiden Ranji Trophy final, on Friday.
While Shorey stayed unbeaten on 123, Himmat was out for 66. For Vidarbha, Rajneesh Gurbani and Aditya Thakare took two wickets each. Shorey, who struck his third first-class century, said he concentrated on soaking the pressure after the top four batsmen fell cheaply.
“It was all about staying in there, taking your time. I gave respect to the bowlers early on and after that it was my session,” Shorey said.
“I got out in 70-80s a lot. Thankfully, I got past the three-figure mark. I backed myself. The target for tomorrow will be to bat, bat and bat. It’s important to score as much as we can.”
Though Shorey and Himmat put the pressure back on Vidarbha in the final session, the latter took the honours in the morning session after winning the toss and electing to field. Vidarbha gave Delhi an early jolt in the very first over on a pitch that assisted seamers early on. Debutant Thakare got rid of opener Kunal Chandela for a duck.
Gautam Gambhir followed next. Offspinner Akshay Wakhare removed the veteran left-handed opener in the 13th over. For Wakhare, the dismissal was all the more special as it was his 200th first-class scalp.
Nitish Rana joined No. 3 Shorey next and hit a couple of boundaries off Thakare. He also struck a straight six off left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate to make his intentions clear. However, Thakare got his revenge in the 27th over when he trapped the left-handed Rana in front of the wicket. Rana departed for 21.
Rishabh Pant, who has failed to score big this season, started off well but fell to fast bowler Gurbani. The Delhi captain wanted to play a wide delivery past point but edged the ball to wicketkeeper Akshay Wadkar, leaving the Delhi reeling at 99/4.
Brief scores: Delhi 271/6 in 88 overs (D Shorey batting 123, H Singh 66, R Gurbani 2/44, A Thakare 2/65)