Suddenly, the match came alive.
Rishabh Pant, in blistering form this season, was run out without facing a ball and Delhi slumped to 35 for three, needing 153 to win. The team from the national capital is still the favourite to win this Ranji Trophy Group-B match at the Wayanad Cricket Stadium, reaching 51 for three at stumps on the third day. But Rajasthan has fought to live another day.
That fightback was authored by Rajesh Bishnoi, who has come back to the side after a year. It was his determined 89 (201m, 162b, 8x4, 4x6) that gave Rajasthan a fair chance; there were times when it looked as though it could be all over on the third day itself.
Bishnoi showed great temperament and excellent judgement after coming in at a difficult time. He stayed calm though wickets were falling at regular intervals at the other end. He played some big shots as well as many attractive ones.
He got out trying to lift Pradeep Sangwan over his head, giving a catch, to substitute Pulkit Narang at mid-off. “It is disappointing to have missed out on a hundred after coming so close, but I was not thinking about any personal milestones,” he said. “I was trying to add some quick 20 or 30 runs before our innings came to an end.”
The only other notable contribution in the Rajasthan second innings, which resumed at 19 for one, came from opener and first-innings century maker Amitkumar Gautam, who made 34. Some of the batsmen were guilty of poor shot selection.
Sangwan bowls well
Pradeep Sangwan, with three for 31, was the pick of the Delhi bowlers. “We didn’t bowl well enough,” said coach K.P. Bhaskar. “We gave them some 30 runs more than what we should have.”
The target was still modest enough for Delhi’s formidable batting line-up. But, it received a setback when Gautam Gambhir fell in just the fifth over; he gave a comfortable catch to Gautam at mid-wicket off seamer Pankaj Singh. Then left-arm paceman Aniket Choudhary trapped Unmukt Chand in front.
And then, disaster struck.
Pant was run out by a smart piece of fielding by Tanvir-ul-Haq at mid-off. The striker Shikhar Dhawan is still there though, unbeaten on 35.
“That was a run out we could have avoided,” said Bhaskar. “Now the match is well-poised for a tight finish. I have to say though that Bishnoi batted very well on his comeback.”
The scores:
Rajasthan — 1st innings: 238.
Delhi — 1st innings: 307.
Rajasthan — 2nd innings: Amitkumar Gautam c Pant b Sangwan 34, Manendra Singh b Manan 14, Tanveer-ul-Haq c Milind b Sangwan 6, Puneet Yadav b Tokas 9, Mahipal Lomror c Narwal b Milind 8, Rajesh Bishnoi c sub b Sangwan 89, Salman Khan c Pant b Saini 4, Chetan Bist b Milind 25, Deepak Chahal lbw b Manan 7, Aniket Choudhary (not out) 1, Pankaj Singh b Manan 2; Extras (b-9, lb-8, nb-4, w-1): 22; Total (in 85.4 overs): 221.
Fall of wicket: 1-19, 2-51, 3-58, 4-76, 5-99, 6-143, 7-198, 8-218, 9-218.
Delhi bowling: Sumit Narwal 10-1-36-0, Navdeep Saini 15-3-29-1, Pradeep Sangwan 16-5-31-3, Manan Sharma 24.4-4-7-59-3, Vikas Tokas 11-3-30-1, Milind Kumar 9-1-19-2.
Delhi — 2nd innings: Shikhar Dhawan (batting) 35, Gautam Gambhir c Gautam b Pankaj 2, Unmukt Chand lbw b Choudhary 5, Rishabh Pant run out 0, Vikas Tokas (batting) 5; Extras (b-1, lb-1, nb-1, w-1): 4; Total (for three wkts. in 14 overs): 51.
Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-35, 3-35.
Rajasthan bowling: Pankaj Singh 6-2-21-1, Aniket Choudhary 6-1-18-1, Mahipal Lomror 1-0-6-0, Puneet Yadav 1-0-4-0.
