The Elite Group B Ranji Trophy 2022-23 match between Delhi and Tamil Nadu ended in a draw after poor light brought an early end to the fourth day’s play at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday. Young batter Pradosh Paul bagged the Player of the Match award for his maiden first-class hundred, as he scored 124 with the help of 16 boundaries in the first innings and took a wicket as well.
Chasing 139 in the final session, Tamil Nadu were off to a flying start almost as if they took a leaf out of England’s book of ‘Bazzball’.
Ranji Trophy 2022-23: Pradosh Paul’s ‘Bahubali’ Hundred Gives Tamil Nadu Hope
Pacer Harshit Rana conceded 9 runs in the opening over while Kuldip Yadav was belted for a six by Sai Sudarshan off the very first delivery of the second over.
Delhi though a chance of an early breakthrough as Jagadeesan was caught by Pranshu Vijayran but the no-ball check overturned the decision as Yadav had overstepped.
Jagadeesan though didn’t capitalise on the chnce as Harshit Rana got the better of him in the third over of the chase. The next two overs saw some fireworks from Sudarshan and Washington Sundar and the visitors losing two more wickets on consecutive deliveries before the on-field umpires, Pashchim Pathak and Khalidhussed A Saiyed, brought out the light meter.
Once again, a gloomy Delhi evening put curtains on the game and it ended in a draw with Tamil Nadu scoring 54/3 inside 6 overs.
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After resuming their 2nd innings on 28/1 on the final day, Delhi suffered a couple of early jolts in the morning session. Lakshminarayanan Vignesh got Vikas Mishra out for a duck with Tamil Nadu captain Baba Indrajith taking the catch in the slips and then Sai Kishore ended Yash Dhull’s breezy stay, trapping the home skipper in front for a 33-ball 37.
Wobbling at 96/3 at one stage, Delhi received a massive boost from a 70-run partnership between opener Dhruv Shorey and Vaibhav Rawal for the 4th wicket.
The duo resisted the gritty Tamil Nadu bowling attack for 12 overs straight and helped the hosts reduce the deficit as Shorey raised his 15th FC fifty.
They looked set to carry on till the lunch break but Sandeep Warrier broke the solid stand by sending back the set batter Shorey, caught behind for 70 and thus creating a passage for Tamil Nadu to sneak through.
The post-lunch session saw Rawal getting his 5th FC half-century and another partnership brewing between him and Jonty Sidhu. They added 43 runs for the fifth wicket before centurion Pradosh Paul struck with the scalp of Sidhu on 14.
Himmat Singh scored just 12 before getting stumped by Jagadeesan off Sai Kishore’s delivery. Himmat’s dismissal opened the floodgates as Lalit Yadav (2), Harshit (3) and Pranshu Vijayran (1) fell in quick succession, leaving Rawal stranded on 95.
Delhi were bowled out for 262 after tea, setting Tamil Nadu a 139-run target.
Sundar was the pick of the bowlers for Tamil Nadu, returning figures of 4/43 in 17.5 overs. Sai Kishore (2/53) and Warrier (2/64) picked up 2 wickets each while Vignesh and Pradosh bagged a scalp apiece.
Earlier on Thursday, Pradosh’s maiden FC hundred and a resilient fifty from Vijay Shankar handed a 124-run lead to Tamil Nadu in the first innings. In reply, Delhi lost wicketkeeper-batter Anuj Rawat for 14 before bad light didn’t allow any further play.
Tamil Nadu took three points thanks to their first innings lead while Delhi settled for one point.
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