Revival: Sumit’s hundred scripted an inspiring turnaround of fortunes.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
A dramatic turnaround on Monday leaves Delhi sniffing its first outright victory of the Ranji Trophy season at the end of day three of the clash against Assam at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
When the umpires called stumps on Sunday evening, the host was trailing by 116 runs in the first innings with four wickets in hand. Come Monday evening, the fortunes had swung significantly — Assam had not just conceded a 124-run lead but was also reeling at 44 for three in the second innings. To make Delhi bat again, it will need to first overcome an 80-run deficit before looking to escape defeat.
Delhi’s day of dominance was thanks to an unheralded pair in Sumit Mathur and Siddhant Sharma. Though their primary skill is with the ball, they showed their all-round utility by stitching together a 166-run partnership off 235 deliveries for the eighth wicket.
Mathur, a left-arm spinner who took a match haul of nine wickets on his Ranji debut against Odisha last season, brought up his maiden First Class hundred in just his second appearance.
Siddhant, a left-arm seamer playing his third game, wasn’t far away from the three-figure mark either. He made 89, helping Delhi reach 454. The lower-order turnaround began with Harshit Rana making a half-century in the morning session before being done in by Mukhtar Hussain’s swing.
In addition to the three wickets Assam lost on Monday, there will be slight concern in its dressing room surrounding skipper Denish Das. Off his first ball, he was struck on his abdomen by a delivery from Himanshu Chauhan, forcing him to retire hurt. He was later taken to a nearby hospital. “Das has received an injection. There will be a scan done. He is doing okay. He is able to speak and walk. We will have to see whether he can bat again in this match,” Assam manager Sudip Chakraborty said.
The scores: Assam — 1st innings: 330
Delhi — 1st innings: Gagan Vats lbw b Hussain 0, Sanat Sangwan lbw b Purkayastha 47, Yash Dhull c Mandal b Purkayastha 47, Himmat Singh b Purkayastha 55, Jonty Sidhu c Denish b Rahul 13, Pranav Rajvanshi lbw b Rahul 12, Sumit Mathur c Denish b Rahul 112, Harshit Rana c Ghadigaonkar b Hussain 59, Siddhant Sharma c Denish b Rahul 89, Money Grewal c Ghadigaonkar b Mrinmoy 6, Himanshu Chauhan (not out) 0; Extras (b-4, lb-9, nb-1): 14; Total (in 122.5 overs): 454.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-66, 3-147, 4-156, 5-166, 6-182, 7-281, 8-447, 9-454.
Assam bowling: Hussain 22-5-75-2, Mrinmoy 18-2-73-1, Bhargav 10-0-59-0, Purkayastha 26-2-98-3, Rahul 35.5-4-108-4, Sibsankar 9-2-15-0, Denish 2-0-13-0.
Assam — 2nd innings: Subham Mandal lbw b Sidhu 18, Rishav Das c Himmat b Rana 10, Abhishek Thakuri lbw b Grewal 9, Denish Das (retired hurt) 0, Sibsankar Roy (batting) 4, Bhargav Dutta (batting) 0; Extras (b-3): 3; Total (for three wkts. in 15 overs): 44.
Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-34, 3-44.
Delhi bowling: Rana 4-0-18-1, Grewal 6-1-15-1, Chauhan 3-0-7-0, Mathur 1-0-1-0, Sidhu 1-1-0-1.
Published – October 28, 2024 10:09 pm IST