Ranji Trophy: Abin Matthew Claims Four-fer Puducherry Inch Closer to Big Win vs Delhi

Medium-pacer Abin Matthew (4/30) scythed through the Delhi top-order to put Puducherry on the verge of a comprehensive away win in their Ranji Trophy Group D fixture here on Sunday.

Facing a deficit of 96 runs, Delhi’s second innings commenced under challenging circumstances with Mathew dismissing skipper Yash Dhull (23), Lakshay Thareja (24), Himmat Singh (5) to leave the hosts reeling at 84/6.

Gaurav Yadav (2/39) and Saurabh Yadav (2/43) shared the bowling honours, each picking up two wickets.

Hrithik Shokeen provided some resistance with 19 runs, but Delhi ended the day at 126/8 in 40 overs, leading by a mere 30 runs.

At close on the penultimate day, Harsh Tyagi (13) and Ishant Sharma (1) were unbeaten at the crease.

As the match entered the final day, Puducherry moved into a strong position with Delhi leading by only 30 runs with just two wickets in hand.

Delhi will need a remarkable performance from their lower-order to set a competitive target, while Puducherry will aim to wrap up the innings quickly and secure a comprehensive victory.

MP sniff win vs Uttarakhand

At Dehradun, Madhya Pradesh declared their second innings at 243/3, setting a challenging target of 376 for Uttarakhand.

Yash Dubey’s solid 59 and Shubham Sharma’s impressive 86 powered the innings.

Earlier, Saransh Jain’s splendid century (100) along with Venkatesh Iyer’s 89 anchored Madhya Pradesh’s first innings as they made 323.

Resuming on 170/6, Uttarakhand folded for 192 with Kumar Kartikeya being the pick of MP bowlers, returning with 4/59.

Facing an uphill task, Uttarakhand ended the day at 7/1, needing 368 runs on the final day.

Brief Scores

At Delhi: Delhi 148 and 126/8; 40 overs (Abin Mathew 4/30, Saurabh Yadav 2/43, Gaurav Yadav 2/39). Puducherry 244; 63.3 overs (Paras Ratnaparkhe 60, Krishna Pandey 44; Hrithik Shokeen 4/46, Himanshu Chauhan 3/60, Navdeep Saini 2/54). Delhi need 30 runs.

At Dehradun: Madhya Pradesh 323 and 243/3 declared; 68 overs (Shubham Sharma 86, Yash Dubey 59, Venkatesh Iyer 53). Uttarakhand 192; 81.5 overs (Dikshanshu Negi 53, Aditya Tare 45; Kumar Kartikeya 4/59, Kulwant Khejroliya 2/42, Saransh Jain 2/46) and 7/1; 3.2 overs. Uttarakhand need 368 runs.

At Vadodara: Baroda 351 and 258/4 declared; 61 overs (Shashwat Rawat 102, Vishnu Solanki 79). Odisha 178 and 103/1; 40 overs. Odisha 103/1; 40 overs (Anurag Sarangi 56, Shantanu Mishra 41). Odisha need 329 runs.

At Jammu: Jammu & Kashmir 100. Himachal Pradesh 120/1; 30 overs (Prashant Chopra 48 batting, Ankit Kalsi 40 batting). Himachal Pradesh lead by 20 runs.