Rajkot, Jan 4 (PTI) Saurashtra, riding on fine centuries from Arpit Vasavada (127 not out) and Harvik Desai (107), posted a mammoth 503 for six as the hosts took control of the Ranji Trophy Group B match against a spineless Delhi bowling attack here on Wednesday.
At stumps on day two, Saurashtra were 370 runs ahead of Delhi’s first-innings total of 133 and would be aiming for an innings win with a bonus point in the fourth round of Ranji matches.
A depleted Delhi bowling attack was at the mercy of the Saurashtra batters as the visitors toiled all day long without much success after getting rid of overnight batter Desai, who could add just three runs to his day one score of 104 before being run out by substitute fielder Himmat Singh.
The other overnight batter Chirag Jani continued to pile on the runs, first adding six runs to complete his half-century and finally getting out on 75. By the time his painfully slow innings — Jani consumed 177 balls — came to an end, Saurashtra had taken a 102-run lead.
Arpit Vasavda and Samarth Vyas continued to flourish in home conditions as the duo shared a 99-run stand, which literally took the wind out of the Delhi bowlers’ sails.
Vyas’ departure on 54 brought in Prerak Mankad, who too took a liking for the Delhi bowlers, smashing them for eight boundaries as Saurashtra inched closer to the 500-run mark.
A declaration looked a possibility when Mankad departed on 64, but skipper Jaydev Unadkat came out and smashed a quick-fire 24 off just 28 balls as the 500-run mark was breached.
With a mountain of runs to contend with, the match looks as good as over for Delhi whose bowlers gave away 319 runs and managed to take just five wickets on day two.
A lot will depend on how long Delhi openers Dhruv Shorey and Ayush Badoni are able to keep Unadkat and Co. at bay on Thursday. Unadkat had single-handedly run through the Delhi batting line-up in the first innings, snaring eight wickets.
If Unadkat gets going again, the match could be over on day three itself.
Brief scores: At Rajkot: Delhi 133 versus Saurashtra 503/6 in 135 overs (Harvik Desai 107, Chirag Jani 75, Arpit Vasavada 127 n.o., Samarth Vyas 54, Prerak Mankad 64).
At Vizianagaram: Andhra 135 and 230/3 in 48 overs (CR Gnaneshwar 72; Srikar Bharat 70 n.o.; Rakshan Readdi 3/65) versus Hyderabad 197 in 63.1 overs (Nitish Kumar Reddy 4/64).
At Ambi: Assam 274 versus Maharashtra 307 for 2 in 87 overs (Siddhesh Veer 94 n.o., Kedar Jadhav 142 n.o.).
At Mumbai: Tamil Nadu 144 and 62 for 1 in 16 overs versus Mumbai 481 in 106.4 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 162, Tanush Kotian 71, Mohit Avasthi 69).
Source: PTI News
