Rajasthan put up a good fight on the last day of their Ranji Trophy match against Delhi but the hosts' bowlers managed to break their resistance just in time to secure an innings and 7-run win at Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium on Wednesday. It was their second victory in as many matches.
Siddharth Saraf, who scored a 37-ball duck in the first innings, proved to be the biggest hurdle in Delhi's march to victory with a dogged innings of 88 runs of 297 balls. He almost saved his team from the humiliation of an innings defeat but fell just before the finishing line as Delhi off-spinner Shivam Sharma broke the deadlock with late strikes.The dense fog delayed the match by 90 minutes in the morning, further improving Rajasthan's chances of eking out a draw. Overnight, they were 78 for two and needed 161 more runs to remove the lead with eight wickets in hand.
Delhi's lanky pacer Navdeep Saini, who also took one of the two wickets on Tuesday, however, more than made up for the lost time with twin strikes in only the third over of the day. He missed hat-trick by just a few inches as the ball that took the edge of Arjit Gupta's bat fell short of Virender Sehwag at first slip.It was the beginning of a crucial partnership between Saraf and Gupta that fetched the most 79 runs for Rajasthan and raised hopes of a draw. More than runs, the duo managed to reduce 25 overs from the designated quota of the day.
Desperate for a wicket, skipper Gautam Gambhir attacked with spinners from both ends. And it worked. like he did it in the first innings, Shivam once again produced a brilliant off-spinner to bowl Gupta. From the other end, left-arm spinner Varun Sood removed the next two batsmen before Saini returned to claim Deepak Chahar.It seemed to be all over for Rajasthan, who missed their most experienced bowler Pankaj Singh due to an injury in the bowler-friendly environment.
Shailender Gehlot came in next and batting is not among his strong points. Saraf, who was nearing his maiden century, had to choose between team and his personal achievement. He chose the former. Playing smart cricket, the 22-year-old opener kept Gehlot at the non-striker end for as many balls as he could. The partnership flourished for close to 20 overs and gave Delhi some worrying moments.The light was fading consistently and the fear of early stumps in the Delhi camp could be sensed. Shivam came to the rescue once more in the match and removed Saraf with another brilliant delivery. He removed Gehlot in the next over to give Delhi seven points, including the bonus.
Brief Scores
Rajasthan: 141 & 232 (Siddharth Saraf 88, Arjit Gupta 37; Navdeep Saini 4/48, Shivam Sharma 3/40) lost to Delhi: 380/6d (Unmukt Chand 146, Virender Sehwag 64; Aniket Choudhary 3/81) by an innings and 7 runs. Points: Delhi 7, Rajasthan 0.