Opener Hiten Dalal smashed his maiden first-class hundred before Himmat Singh and Jonty Sidhu shared a 147-run stand to propel Delhi to 389 for six on day one of their final Ranji Trophy league match against Rajasthan here on Wednesday.
Dalal (102 off 93) and Anuj Rawat (45 off 70) took control of the proceedings with an opening stand of 142. After their dismissal, Jonty Sidhu (92 off 137) and Himmat Singh (90 off 128) anchored the innings to put Delhi in a strong position.
It was an ordinary bowling effort from Rajasthan who allowed Delhi to score at 4.37 runs per over after electing to bowl at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
It was a memorable knock from Dalal, who is playing his 12th first-class match, comprising 18 fours and a six.
Tanveer Ul-Haq was the pick of the bowlers for Rajasthan, taking two wickets for 78 runs in 17 overs.
All but out of the quarterfinal race, Delhi need other results to go their way and a big win over Rajasthan to remain in the hunt for a knockout berth.
With just 18 points from seven games, Delhi are currently languishing at the 10th spot in the 18-team Group A and B cross pool and are virtually out of the reckoning, but a bonus point win over Rajasthan and some favourable results can still keep them in the fray.
In Patiala, Punjab bowled out Bengal for 138 on day one with left-arm spinner Vinay Choudhary taking six wickets.
In response, Punjab were 93 for three at stumps with skipper Mandeep Singh unbeaten on 29.
third 100 for Sarfaraz
Rajkot: Saurashtra bowlers led by skipper Jaydev Unadkat dished out a clinical show to restrict Tamil Nadu to 250/7 in their last Elite Group B match.
While the result of the game would not affect Saurashtra, as they have qualified for the knockouts already, it would have a bearing on Tamil Nadu’s prospects as nothing short of a win would help the side.
For Tamil Nadu, the experienced Abhinav Mukund (86) and N Jagadeesan (61 not out) scored fifties.
Jagadeesan’s knock ensured that the visitors reached the 250-run mark.
Meanwhile, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Sarfaraz Khan and Aakarshit Gomel hammered hundreds to take Mumbai to a commanding 352/4 in an inconsequential game against Madhya Pradesh.
Gomel made his first-class debut.
Both the teams are already out of the tournament.
For Mumbai, Sarfaraz (169 not out) and Gomel (122) steadied the ship with their 275-run stand after the top order failed once again.
This season belonged to Sarfaraz, who has hit a triple hundred, double hundred and now a hundred.
In Bengaluru, Karnataka bowlers shot out Baroda for paltry 85 and then took the first innings lead.