The pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium proved to be a stubborn adversary, refusing to yield much to the bowlers during the Elite Group-D Ranji Trophy clash between Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. Much like the surface seen in an earlier India versus West Indies Test, this one ultimately led to a draw, much to Delhi’s disappointment in their first home game of the new Ranji season.
With the contest heading towards an inevitable stalemate as Delhi struggled to make breakthroughs in the post-lunch session on day four, the captains, in consultation with the umpires, decided to call off play shortly after tea.
Interestingly, it was Himachal Pradesh who initially seemed keen to continue after the tea interval. Chasing a challenging target of 343, they had reached a solid 168 for two from 46 overs. Captain Ankush Bains was leading from the front with an unbeaten 81, ably supported by Pukhraj Mann, who stood strong on 76 not out. However, as daylight faded on another hazy day, both teams finally agreed to a draw at 3:15 p.m.
A Missed Opportunity for Delhi
Despite earning three points for their first-innings lead, Ayush Badoni’s Delhi side will undoubtedly feel a pang of disappointment, having failed to clinch an outright victory on home turf.
The morning of Tuesday saw Delhi add a quick 13 runs to their overnight score of 196 for four across nine deliveries before declaring. The seven-time Ranji champions appeared to be on the path to victory when Money Grewal struck early with the new ball, sending back Sidhant Purohit and Ankit Kalsi.
Purohit was trapped leg-before in the very first over of Himachal’s second innings, while Kalsi edged a full delivery to Ayush Doseja—later named player-of-the-match—at slip. Yet, Bains and Mann remained unperturbed by these early setbacks. They forged an unbroken, defiant partnership of 160 runs, steadily thwarting Delhi’s ambitions.
Even a brief spell of bouncers from Navdeep Saini after lunch couldn’t ignite the spark Delhi needed. Ultimately, the placid nature of the pitch had the final say, ensuring a shared outcome.
Match Summary:
Delhi — 1st Innings: 430.
Himachal — 1st Innings: 297.
Delhi — 2nd Innings: Arpit Rana lbw b Negi 27, Sanat Sangwan lbw b Negi 1, Ayush Badoni c Divesh b Negi 14, Ayush Doseja (not out) 64, Yash Dhull c Dagar b Arora 70, Anuj Rawat (not out) 18; Extras (w-5, b-6, lb-4): 15; Total (for four wickets decl. in 33.3 overs): 209.
Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-38, 3-53, 4-178.
Himachal bowling: Arora 5-0-32-1, Negi 11-0-57-3, Dagar 3-1-16-0, Guleria 9.3-1-47-0, Vashisht 2-0-22-0, Divesh 3-0-25-0.
Himachal — 2nd Innings (Target 343): Sidhant Purohit lbw b Grewal 0, Ankush Bains (not out) 81, Ankit Kalsi c Doseja b Grewal 6, Pukhraj Mann (not out) 76; Extras (w-1, lb-4): 5; Total (for two wkts. in 46 overs): 168.
Fall of wickets: 0-1, 2-8.
Delhi bowling: Grewal 7-3-31-2, Siddhant 7-1-18-0, Saini 10-0-31-0, Arpit 2-1-7-0, Mathur 5-0-21-0, Badoni 8-1-26-0, Waghela 7-1-30-0.