RAJKOT: Ravindra Jadeja did what he does best in Rajkot, bamboozle opposition batters with his left-arm spin, and then scored quick runs as Saurashtra took the upper hand against Delhi here on the first day of their Group D encounter.
Jadeja's 5/66 and 38 off 33 balls (2x4, 3x6) helped the hosts reach 163/5 in reply to Delhi's first-innings total of 188. The match is a must win for both teams to keep their qualification hopes alive for the knockout round.
After Delhi captain Ayush Badoni won the toss and elected to bat, the visitors had a disastrous start, losing opener Arpit Rana (0) caught behind by Harvik Desai off Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat's left-arm pace. However, from there on, Ravindra Jadeja and fellow left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja took over, as the duo grabbed eight wickets between them to bowl the visitors out for a below-par total.
Rana's partner Sanat Sangwan (12) was trapped in front by Ravindra. Yash Dhull (44 off 76b; 8x4) and Badoni (60 off 78b; 5x4, 2x6) stitched a 51-run partnership for the third wicket to take Delhi to a level of safety before the two spinners did the damage.
Dhull was trapped in front by Ravindra Jadeja while Rishabh Pant's (1) ultra-aggressive approach undid him. Pant was caught at deep square leg while attempting to sweep Dharmendrasinh. Tall southpaw Jonty Sidhu (16) was caught by Sheldon Jackson off off-spinner Yuvrajsinh Dodiya's bowling. New batter Sumit Mathur (1) was trapped in front after he missed a full delivery off Dharmendrasinh's bowling.
Start a Conversation
Post comment