Chandigarh hand hapless Delhi nine-wicket thrashing in Ranji Trophy

Delhi suffered an ignominious defeat at the hands of Chandigarh in their fourth Ranji Trophy that ended on Saturday, losing by nine wickets and failing to eke out even a single point.

Resuming at 46 without loss, Chandigarh chased the 203-run target with the loss of just one wicket. Arslan Khan was the man dismissed for 68 while Shivam Bhambri scored an unbeaten 100 to power the home team to win. Bhambri won the Player of the Match award. 

The loss put Delhi in fourth place among eight teams and has made chances of qualifying for the next round a tad difficult although they still can.

“We are still very much in with a chance. We have three matches left,” said skipper Himmat Singh to www.thedelhijunction.com.

Delhi have 11 points from four matches. Chandigarh lead the table with 19, Railways have 14, and Tamil Nadu 12. Delhi now play Railways, Saurashtra, and Jharkhand in the remaining matches.

Shivam Bhambri with the Player of the Match award.

Himmat was disappointed with the loss but he gave credit to the opposition team.

“We lost because Chandigarh were better prepared for the conditions. They batted better and bowled better in their home conditions. We struggled,” he said.

Delhi batsmen failed to score big and that is the reason why they failed to make 300 even once in the match.

“Our batsman, including myself, couldn’t convert starts into big scores.”

Himmat refused to speak on the axing of Jonty Sidhu from the team for this match.

However, those in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) have questioned the decision since Sidhu’s replacement Kshitiz Sharma couldn’t score and averages just over 30.

However, the fact is that the batsmen failed en masse. Barring Yash Dhull who scored 121 and 58, only Sanat Sangwan could make a half-century. He hit 70 in the second innings. Sangwan had scored 23 in the first essay.

Ayush Badoni made 49 off 50 balls in the first innings and made one in the second. He failed to convert the first innings score into a big knock. Badoni though took four wickets with his spin bowling in the Chandigarh first innings.

Anuj Rawat, who opened the innings with Sangwan, made four and 20. Himmat himself scored 0 and 26.

The 34-year-old Kshitiz, who was playing his 15th first-class match, made two and 11.

Tags : Delhi, DDCA, Chandigarh, Ranji Trophy, Shivam Bhambri, Arslan Khan, Himmat Singh, Ayush Badoni, Sanat Sangwan, Kshitiz Sharma