Veteran wicket-keeper smashes 152 to help the home side pocket two points against Tamil Nadu
Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Vijay Dahiya announced his return to first-class cricket with a stroke-filled century that helped Delhi end Tamil Nadu’s dominance over them in Ranji Trophy here on Sunday.
Dahiya, making a comeback after a year’s sabbatical, smashed an aggressive 152 to propel Delhi to 491 for seven declared on the fourth and final day of the Super League match at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground. The total meant the hosts amassed a first innings lead of 144 runs, which gave them two points from the drawn encounter. It was a good turnaround for Delhi who had conceded points to the southern team in their last three matches. At close, Tamil Nadu were 66 for two in the second innings.
Resuming at 309 for five, Delhi moved past the visitors’ first innings total of 347 in the seventh over of the day, through Rajat Bhatia’s single off Tamilkumaran.
Bhatia, 101 overnight, struck eight more boundaries in the morning before falling to Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan for 166. His knock consumed 335 balls and spanned two minutes short of seven hours. The dismissal brought to an end Bhatia’s sixth-wicket partnership with Dahiya which produced 248 runs from only 387 balls and in a little more than five hours.
In Kanpur, defending champions Uttar Pradesh earned two points on account of their first innings lead against Saurashtra. Saurashtra veteran Sitanshu Kotak scored an unbeaten century (118) in 268 balls and thwarted UP’s plan of starting their campaign on winning note. After trailing by 108 runs in the first innings, Saurashtra were 272 for 6 in their second inings when the match was called off 24 minutes after tea.
In Rohtak, D Kalyankrishna and KS Shahbuddin came out with fine bowling performances to help Andhra post a convincing 114-run win over hosts Haryana.
Chasing a target of 242 runs, Haryana batting collapsed like a pack of cards and folded for only 127 runs in the second essay.
