CG lower order comes to team’s aid twice in well-fought drawn Ranji match with Delhi

Raipur: The Ranji Trophy match between Chhattisgarh and Delhi ended in a well-fought draw after an intense four-day contest at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Nava Raipur. Both teams put up driven performances, with the host team's all-rounders Ajay Mandal and Shubham Agrawal playing pivotal roles for Chattisgarh.Winning the toss, Chhattisgarh had elected to bat first, posting a respectable total of 343 runs in 110.5 overs. Opener Ayush Pandey led the innings with a solid 89 off 149 balls, supported by middle-order batter Sanjeet Desai, who added 77 runs off 143 deliveries. The resilience of the lower order from all-rounders Ajay Mandal and Shubham Agrawal proved crucial, with Mandal contributing 69 off 123 balls and Agrawal chipping in with a gritty 33 off 116 balls. Delhi's Ayush Badoni was the standout bowler, taking 4 wickets for 43 runs, while Hritik Shokeen and Harsh Tyagi claimed two wickets each to restrict the hosts.In response, Delhi had a steady start with openers Sanat Sangwan and Anuj Rawat building a 47-run partnership. Captain Himmat Singh added a solid 65 off 123 balls, but it was Jonty Sidhu's century (103 off 170 balls) that propelled Delhi to a first-innings total of 357, giving them a slim 14-run lead. Chhattisgarh's Ajay Mandal and Ashish Chouhan took 3 wickets each, while Shubham Singh contributed with 2 wickets, effectively containing the visitors.Trailing by 14 runs, Chhattisgarh faced early setbacks in their second innings, losing six wickets for just 179 runs. Ajay Mandal once again stood tall, scoring an unbeaten 57 to stabilise the innings after a shaky start. Despite Mandal's efforts, the match was declared a draw on Monday. Delhi's Navdeep Saini took 3 wickets, and Shokeen added 2 more to his tally.Overall, Ajay Mandal's all-round performance—scoring 126 runs and taking 6 wickets—was the highlight of the match, while Shubham Agrawal's contributions with both bat and ball were equally crucial in maintaining Chhattisgarh's competitive edge.
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