Published: Oct 22, 2015, 08:30 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 31, 2016, 02:51 PM (IST)
Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of Day 1 of the Group A game of the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy between Delhi and Bengal, live from Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. While Delhi top Group A with 14 points from 3 matches (2 of which have resulted in outright wins), Bengal are on 4, tied with Vidarbha and Rajasthan. However, not only do Bengal have a higher quotient (0.957) than both Vidarbha (0.733) and Rajasthan (0.644), they have also played 2 matches to the 3 played by the other two teams. Bengal have done a competent job of late, but Delhi will have home advantage. The presence of Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Pradeep Sangwan, and Unmukt Chand will bolster Delhi’s chances, while Bengal will be led by Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, and Pragyan Ojha.
Live cricket scores Bengal 272/3 | Overs 90 | Batting: Sudip Chatterjee 108(226), Wriddhiman Saha 67(111): After Manoj Tiwary’s wicket, Delhi failed to make any otehr breakthrough as the visitors ended Day 1 with 272 runs on board.
Live cricket scores Bengal 156/3 | Overs 62 | Batting: Sudip Chatterjee 52(138), Wriddhiman Saha 17(27): Pradeep Sangwan makes the big breakthrough as he dismissed Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary on on the last delivery of the 54th over. This wicket brought in Wriddhiman Saha in, it is improtant for Sudip and Saha to build up a big partnership to ensure a competitive first innings total for Bengal. OUT! Manoj Tiwary c Rishabh Pant b Pradeep Sangwan 55(126)
LUNCH TAKEN AT FEROZ SHAH KOTLA
Live cricket scores Bengal 85/2 | Overs 35 | Batting: Sudip Chatterjee 31(70), Manoj Tiwari 22(59): After the two early breakthroughs, Delhi did not manage another one, while Sudip and Tiwari have held their nerves to recover Bengal from a bad start. Tiwary’s 59-ball 22 consists of two bounadires and one six, while Sudip’s innings includes three boundaries.
Live cricket scores Bengal 34/2 | Overs 14 | Batting: Sudip Chatterjee 2(8), Manoj Tiwari 10(41): Delhi continue their dominance, as they have already dismissed the Bengal openers with just 29 runs on board. Manan Sharma and Navdeep Amarjeet Saini are the wicket-takers for the hosts. While Parthasarathi Bhattacharya was the first batsman to depart for 15 from 40 balls, Naved Ahmad is the new dismissal. He got out on the fifth delivery of the 15th over for 41-ball 10. This brought their best batsman Manoj Tiwary on crease. OUT! Parthasarathi Bhattacharya LBW Manan Sharma 15(40) OUT! Naved Ahmad b Navdeep Amarjeet Saini 10(41)
Delhi’s season took off in spectacular fashion. They were shot out for 138 by Deepak Chahar at Jaipur before Rajasthan secured a 102-run lead. Delhi reached 291 for 7 before their No. 9 Sumit Narwal thrashed Rajasthan around, slamming 106 not out in 94 balls, taking Delhi to 437 and saving the match. Ishant then celebrated his return to Ranji Trophy with 6 for 36 and 3 for 11 against Vidarbha at Kotla as they won by 10 wickets. The Haryana match at the same ground, however, was a tighter affair: set 224 for a win, Delhi rode on Unmukt’s 99 to reach 154 for 2 before Harshal Patel gave them a scare. Reduced to 183 for 6, Milind Kumar held his nerves and saw Delhi through.
Bengal, on the other hand, had started on a low. They squandered an early advantage, getting bowled out for 312 from 214 for 4, and conceding a lead of 225 to Karnataka at Chinnaswamy. However, Naved Ahmed scored 95, Tiwary a hundred, and Bengal salvaged pride with an honourable draw. Unfortunately, rain came in their way at Eden Gardens, where Ojha spun Rajasthan out for 198 before Tiwary got them an 84-run lead. Rajasthan, reduced to 15 for 3, finished the match on 146 for 5 when stumps were called.
Squads:
Delhi: Gautam Gambhir (c), Mohit Ahlawat (wk), Ishant Sharma, Pradeep Sangwan, Unmukt Chand, Parvinder Awana, Yogesh Nagar, Sumit Narwal, Pawan Suyal, Manan Sharma, Milind Kumar, Pulkit Narang, Vaibhav Rawal, Sarang Rawat, Dhruv Shorey.
Bengal: Manoj Tiwary (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shreevats Goswami (wk), Pragyan Ojha, Ashok Dinda, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Pankaj Shaw, Sourav Sarkar, Veer Pratap Singh, Naved Ahmed, Aamir Gani, Abhishek Das, Sudip Chatterjee, Parthasarathi Bhattacharjee.
