Ayush Badoni's double, Sumit Mathur's 150 drive Delhi ahead

Ranchi: Delhi took stranglehold of their third round Ranji Trophy tie against Jharkhand at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, as they reduced the Virat Singh-led home side to 131/4 after scoring 515/5 declared in their first innings which was built around Ayush Badoni's second successive double century. 

Badoni hammered unbeaten 210 while Sumit Mathur scored 150 not out as the duo shared an unbeaten 334-run partnership for the sixth wicket. The two had joined hands on Day 1 at 181/5 and took Delhi beyond 500.

Delhi then had Jharkhand on the mat, reducing them to 131/4 at stumps on Day 3. Pace bowling all-rounder Dev Lakra, spinners Hrithik Shokeen, Ayush Badoni and Aman Chaudhary (debutant, who is just 21) took one wicket each. Left-arm spinner Chaudhary, who represents Yorks Ravindra in DDCA League, removed skipper Virat Singh.

Delhi will now have to take 16 wickets on the last day to score an outright win. IF they don't win, they look certain to at least take points on first innings for the second time in succession.

Skipper Badoni had scored 217 against Gujarat at the Palam grounds last week. He had also picked five wickets in an innings in the season opener against Bengal.

Tags : Ayush Badoni, Ranji Trophy, Sumit Mathur, Delhi, Cricket, Jharkhand, Ranchi