Ranji Trophy: Uttarakhand seal second straight win

DEHRADUN: After an indifferent day on Tuesday, Uttarakhand’s star pacer Deepak Dhapola hit his straps early on Day 3 which helped the hosts register their second straight win in their debut Ranji Trophy season. Dhapola claimed his third five-wicket haul to nip Manipur’s fightback and help Uttarkhand win by eight wickets on Wednesday.
Manipur looked to build on a 52-run lead.It, however, wasn’t meant to be. Immaculate line and length maintained by Dhapola and Sunny Kashyap blew away Manipur, adding just 43 runs for nine wickets.
The duo took five wickets each. Interestingly, both pacers returned identical figures of 5/46. Dhapola struck early cleaning up overnight opening batsman Lakhan Rawat. Rawat could add just one run to his overnight score of 81. The early-morning collapse meant Uttarakhand were set a target of 95 runs which they achieved comfortably in just 18 overs with eight wickets to spare. Opener Vineet Saxena scored unbeaten 32.
Dhapola was adjudged man of the match for dismissing 12 batsmen in the match. Dhapola was supported by Sunny Kashyap who took six wickets in the match, five of which came in the second innings.
Dhapola now as 21 wickets to his name in just two matches of the Ranji Trophy. Uttarakhand captain Rajat Bhatia credited the bowlers for team’s win and said the team has a bright future and the two wins at home as boosted the chances of qualifying into the next round. “Our bowlers, especially Dhapola, bowled very well in both the innings. However we still have some issues in the batting. There are many talents players in the team and if we play to our potential we surely can reach the next round,” Bhatia said. Uttarakhand will face Sikkim in its next match on November 20 at the KIIT Stadium in Bhubaneshwar.
Brief Scores: Manipur 137 & 185 in 74.4 overs (L Rawat 82; D Dhopola 5/46, S Rana 5/46). Uttarakhand 228 & 99/2 in 17.5 overs. Uttarakhand won by 8 wkts.
Points: Uttarakhand 6 Manipur 0.