Pondicherry showcased a dominant performance on day three of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group-D encounter against Yash Dhull’s Delhi side, hinting at a potential repeat of their nine-wicket victory over Delhi two seasons prior at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Responding to Delhi’s first-innings total of 294, Pondicherry amassed an impressive 481 runs, securing a substantial 187-run first-innings lead. At the close of play, Delhi’s opening pair, Arpit Rana and Sanat Sangwan, had guided their team to 76 for no loss in their second innings, but still find themselves trailing by 111 runs.
While overnight centurion Ajay Rohera continued his excellent form, extending his score to 151, it was the crucial contributions from former India spinner Jayant Yadav and dynamic all-rounder Aman Khan that further inflicted damage on Delhi on Monday.
Pondicherry’s Rohera in action against Delhi.
Jayant Yadav played a composed innings, scoring 71 runs off 123 deliveries. Meanwhile, Aman Khan demonstrated his power-hitting prowess, smashing a rapid 66 runs from just 47 balls, which included 12 fours and two sixes. Pondicherry quickly surpassed Delhi’s total in less than seven overs during the morning session, having resumed the day at 240 for four.
Aman, a 28-year-old talent who has played for Indian Premier League teams like Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals, was instrumental in the rapid flow of runs early on. He reached his half-century with a confident punch off medium-pacer Sumit Kumar that raced to the cover boundary.
With Delhi very quickly on the defensive, Aman had more runs for the taking. However, in an effort to maintain the high scoring rate, the Mumbai-born player, who moved to Pondicherry last season seeking more consistent game time, holed out at long-off against Sumit Mathur’s left-arm spin.
Following Aman’s dismissal, Jayant, who famously hit a Test century against England in 2016, formed an 88-run partnership with the well-settled Rohera. This stand further deflated Delhi’s spirits.
The scores: Delhi — 1st innings: 294.
Pondicherry — 1st innings: Vedant Bhardwaj b Simarjeet 10, Ajay Rohera c sub (Kandpal) b Simarjeet 151, Paras Ratnaparkhe c Rawat b Mathur 43, Anand Singh Bais c Doseja b Shokeen 48, Sidhaant Addhatrao c Rawat b Simarjeet 14, Aman Khan c Shokeen b Mathur 66, Jayant Yadav c Rawat b Sumit 71, Puneet Datey b Shokeen 26, Sagar Udeshi b Mathur 25, Gourav Yadav c Dhull b Shokeen 5, Abin Mathew (not out) 0; Extras (nb-1, b-10, lb-11): 22; Total (in 117.1 overs): 481.
Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-110, 3-203, 4-224, 5-308, 6-396, 7-421, 8-465, 9-481.
Delhi bowling: Sumit 14-1-75-1, Simarjeet 24-5-82-3, Grewal 20-1-94-0, Shokeen 29-4-121-3, Mathur 27.1-4-77-3, Arpit 3-0-11-0.
Delhi — 2nd innings: Arpit Rana (batting) 40, Sanat Sangwan (batting) 24; Extras (nb-1, b-4, lb-7): 12; Total (for no loss in 23 overs): 76.
Pondicherry bowling: Mathew 3-0-14-0, Datey 5-0-17-0, Udeshi 7-1-21-0, Jayant 8-2-13-0.