Debutant Rana stars after Ishant’s six-for

Ishant Sharma continued his brilliant form with the ball as his six-wicket haul enabled Delhi to restrict Vidarbha to 298 in the Ranji Trophy group league encounter here on Friday.

Delhi, in reply, crawled to 132 for two in 60 overs as skipper Gautam Gambhir played <g data-gr-id="26">a painstaking unbeaten innings</g> of 62 off 180 balls with six fours. In fact, the India discard consumed 30 of the 60 overs as Vidarbha bowlers tried a negative line bowling way outside the off-stump.

The highlight of the day, apart from Ishant’s innings, was debutant left-hander Nitish Rana, who scored 57 off 139 deliveries with eight boundaries. Along with Gambhir, he added 112 runs for the unbroken third-wicket stand.

Delhi <g data-gr-id="22">need</g> 167 runs to get the first-innings lead. The 21-year-old Rana was impressive during his stay at the wicket. Strong off backfoot, the youngster packed a lot of punch in his shots.

Especially square off the wicket, Rana’s shots were off the drawer. A square cut followed by a straight drive off Shrikant Wagh was appreciated by one and all. 

He completed his <g data-gr-id="25">half century</g> with a glorious on drive coming down the track against off-spinner Akshay Wakhare.

But Gambhir’s subdued form was the reason that Delhi could not press the initiative, scoring barely two runs per over. 

In the morning, Ishant showed that he is a class apart from other bowlers as he intimidated Vidarbha lower-order with pace and bounce.