Ranji Trophy 2017-18, Final, Day 2, Review: Rajneesh Gurbani’s hat-trick and Wasim Jaffer’s resistance gain Vidarbha the upper hand

The second day of the ongoing title clash between Delhi and Vidarbha in the ongoing Ranji Trophy saw an attritional cricket with no team refusing to go down. The latter side though showed more resolve and ended the proceedings just ahead of their opposition. Rajneesh Gurbani was the star of the day who scalped a sensational hat-trick to clean up the tail of Delhi. However, Vidarbha looked assured in their response courtesy Wasim Jaffer who looked immovable throughout his stay at the crease.

Vikas Sharma and the centurion on the first day Dhruv Shorey strode out in the morning as Delhi aimed a total of 350-400 from 271/6. The duo played out the first 10 overs with ease but not scoring more runs as the latter looked absolutely assured much like the first day. But Gurbani who was injured came back to bowl and ripped through the line-up way too easily. He first castled the off-stump of Mishra and then took a sensational hat-trick culminating Dhruv Shorey on his hat-trick ball. Interestingly, he castled all the batsmen in the morning and finished with magical figures of 6/59 from 24 overs of hostility.

Delhi side was bundled out for just 295 as Vidarbha had a great chance to make amends by posting a huge total on the board. The debutant Aditya Thakare also bowled well for a couple of wickets who started his first-class career with a bang. For Delhi, Shorey fought a lone battle with a stellar knock of 145 off 294 balls with 21 hits to the fence. Only Himmat Singh supported him to some extent who counter-attacked with 66 runs of 72 deliveries when his side was tottering at 99/4.

Vidarbha openers fluster Delhi

Navdeep Saini and Akash Sudan, the new-ball bowlers for Delhi, failed to extract the movement off the pitch, unlike Vidarbha seamers. The openers Faiz Fazal and Sanjay Ramaswamy settled in quite nicely and played a few shots to get going. The former who is also the skipper of the team was more enterprising and latched onto the freebies presented by the bowlers. They added 96 together for the opening wicket as Delhi bowlers looked clueless. The fears of them running away with game started doing the rounds.

Stunning comeback from Delhi

The debutant Sudan, however, made the first breakthrough as he disturbed the furniture of Ramaswamy. The wicket sparkled the bowling line-up as they hustled and bustled soon after. Sudan also made Fazal nick a superb delivery behind the stumps. Ganesh Satish also followed soon after Saini pinned him in front to make things interesting. The panic button was set in Vidarbha camp as they were collpased from 96/0 to 133/3. But all the nerves were calmed down by the ever experienced Wasim Jaffer.

He took the responsibility of the side on his shoulders and stitched a crucial partnership with Apoorv Wankhade. They helped the team cross 200-run mark as their side was now only trailing by less than 100 runs. Just when the things were looking bright for Vidarbha, Kulwant Khejroliya induced an edge behind off Wankhade’s bat and brought back Delhi in the game. The proceedings of the day ended soon after as Delhi went into the dressing room with a belief of making a come back on the third morning.

Vidarbha ended the day on 206/4 after 67 overs of action and Jaffer standing tall on 61 with eight fours. He has played a chanceless knock so far and a lot would rely on him now if Vidarbha wishes to bat Delhi out of the game. The pitch is still offering the bowlers a lot to keep them interested. The game is nicely poised now and the first session of the third morning will decide the fate of the match and it might go either way. For now, Vidarbha have got their noses ahead only just and if only one more session goes their way, they might lift the trophy for the first time in the history of the tournament.

Brief Scores:

Delhi 295 (D Shorey 145, H Singh 66; R Gurbani 6/59)

Vidarbha 206/4 (F Fazal 67, W Jaffer 61*; A Sudan 2/53)