NEW DELHI: Young batter Ayush Badoni played a stellar innings, smashing a magnificent hundred for Delhi in their second innings in a Ranji Trophy Group D match in Dharamsala. The team posted a commanding total of 381 for six declared, setting a challenging target of 327 for Himachal Pradesh on Sunday.
Delhi's openers, Anuj Rawat (54 off 32 balls) and Yash Dhull (82 off 81 balls), provided a flying start to the second innings. Ayush Badoni took charge with an impressive 111 off 115 balls, including 12 fours and a six.
Skipper Himmat Singh (45 off 45 balls) and Jonty Sidhu (46 off 51 balls) continued the aggressive batting display as Delhi scored at a brisk pace, declaring their innings. This total marked their best performance in the ongoing Ranji season.
Himachal Pradesh faced an early setback, losing Prashant Chopra for 5, but reached 31 for one at stumps, with Shubham Arora (15) and Ankit Kalsi (7) at the crease. Himachal needs 296 runs to win on the final day.
In the morning session, Delhi's bowlers wrapped up Himachal's first innings, with Himanshu Chauhan (3/72) preventing Rishi Dhawan from reaching his century and Siddhant Sharma (5/103) claiming the last wicket of Vaibhav Arora (4) to secure a five-wicket haul.
J&K beat Puducherry by 19 runs
In Thuthipet, in a memorable debut performance, left-arm spinner Vanshaj Sharma played a crucial role in Jammu and Kashmir's 19-run victory against Puducherry.
Chasing a target of 87, Puducherry was dismissed for 67, with Sharma claiming all the remaining three wickets to finish with impressive figures of 5 for 16. This complemented his first-innings performance of 5 for 74, resulting in a remarkable 10-wicket match haul on his debut.
On the previous day, another left-arm spinner, Abid Mushtaq, achieved a 10-wicket match haul for Jammu and Kashmir. Mushtaq's five-wicket hauls in both innings (5 for 64 in the first innings and 5 for 28 in the second innings) earned him the Player of the Match award.
With this win, Jammu and Kashmir continued their unbeaten run in the tournament, securing the third place with 18 points, trailing behind Baroda and Madhya Pradesh. On the other hand, Puducherry's chances of advancing to the knockout stage are nearly extinguished, as they sit with 15 points in the competition.
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