Every round of the Ranji Trophy comprises a wide spectrum of results. There are nail-chewing humdingers. There are one-sided hammerings. Dreary draws, the least appealing of them all, are also part of the First-Class competition’s fabric.

The Elite Group-C face-off between Delhi and Gujarat at the Palam ‘B’ ground belonged to that last category. As is generally the case in these high-scoring affairs that culminate in a draw, the placid pitch seemed to be the most decisive element.

It meant that the host, after winning the toss and amassing 648 for six declared, couldn’t push for an outright win. It had to be content with three points after bundling out Gujarat for 479 to secure a first-innings lead of 169 runs. That, too, took an almighty effort, with Ayush Badoni & Co. spending 174.1 overs on the field.

Delhi still enforced the follow-on in the hope of a few quick breakthroughs, but once Gujarat reached 15 for one in eight overs at the scheduled tea break, both teams decided to exchange handshakes and rest their weary legs and tired minds.

Off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen endured the biggest workload, delivering as many as 53 overs in the first essay and another four in the second. But any possible soreness was supplanted by sheer delight once he claimed his maiden five-wicket haul in First Class cricket. On a deck offering very little assistance for the spinners, Shokeen finished with five for 143 at an economy of 2.7 in the first dig.

When Shokeen dismissed overnight batter Manan Hingrajia to reduce Gujarat to 385 for six inside the opening hour, Delhi would have hoped for the remaining batters to wither away. But skipper Chintan Gaja, who had made 41 on day three, went on to contribute 82 and prolong the innings with the lower-order. It frustrated Delhi, but perhaps not as much as the nature of the surface did.

The scores:

Delhi — 1st innings: 648 for six decl.

Gujarat — 1st innings: Abhishek Desai c Doseja b Shokeen 34, Aarya Desai c Dhull b Shokeen 11, Vedant Trivedi c Rawat b Divij 38, Manan Hingrajia c Mathur b Shokeen 123, Urvil Patel c Badoni b Shokeen 23, Jaymeet Patel c Sanat b Saini 72, Chintan Gaja c & b Mathur 82, Vishal Jayswal c & b Mathur 21, Harshal Patel c Rawat b Shokeen 5, Arzan Nagwaswalla (not out) 10, Siddharth Desai b Grewal 6; Extras (b-34, lb-11, w-6, nb-3): 54; Total (in 174.1 overs): 479.

Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-79, 3-118, 4-153, 5-277, 6-385, 7-443, 8-444, 9-450.

Delhi bowling: Divij 18-4-45-1, Saini 23-5-50-1, Shokeen 53-11-143-5, Grewal 19.1-3-53-1, Badoni 19-3-57-0, Mathur 25-6-51-2, Priyansh 12-2-23-0, Doseja 5-0-12-0.

Gujarat — 2nd innings: Abhishek Desai (not out) 9, Aarya Desai lbw b Divij 2, Vedant Trivedi (not out) 0; Extras (b-4): 4; Total (for one wkt. in eight overs): 15.

Fall of wicket: 1-6.

Delhi bowling: Shokeen 4-2-6-0, Divij 4-2-5-1.

PoM: Priyansh Arya.

Priyansh Arya’s 199 and Ayush Badoni’s 217 for Delhi were studded with modern-day flamboyance, Manan Hingrajia’s unbeaten 108 (274b, 12×4, 1×6) for Gujarat at the Palam ‘B’ ground here on Tuesday was a throwback to old-school solidity. The 28-year-old may possibly have more attacking shots in his armoury, but the left-hand batter was intent on displaying admirable restraint on day three of the Ranji Trophy Group-C clash in the national capital. From his overnight score of 12, he carried on through the entire day to take Gujarat’s first-innings total to 363 for five at the close.

The visitors still stare at a deficit of 285 runs, but they should fancy their chances of grinding down Delhi’s bowlers further on a slow deck. Giving Hingrajia company at stumps was skipper Chintan Gaja (41 batting, 105b, 3×4). On a surface where wickets are ever so hard to come by, Delhi may come to rue Gaja’s reprieve on five by Money Grewal at fine-leg off Navdeep Saini. All-rounder Jaymeet Patel also played a solid hand (72, 119b, 9×4), sharing a 124-run fifth-wicket stand with Hingrajia.

Hingrajia’s approach — he scored just 96 runs in the whole day — was apt for the situation. Gujarat had fared reasonably to get to 98 for two at the end of the second day in response to the host’s 648 for six declared. But in Tuesday’s opening session, the loss of two more wickets was an undeniable dent. Vedant Trivedi departed in the seventh over of the day when he was strangled down the leg side off Divij Mehra. Wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat, who was standing up to the stumps to the medium-pacer, showed ample skill and agility to grab a difficult catch.

Urvil Patel’s impetuosity to attack meant his contribution was confined to a 28-ball 23. With off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen turning the ball into his hitting arc, Urvil couldn’t resist a slog across the line, only to find Ayush Badoni snaffling a sharp catch at slip.

The scores: Delhi — 1st innings: Priyansh Arya b Hingrajia 199, Sanat Sangwan c Urvil b Harshal 8, Yash Dhull c Trivedi b Harshal 10, Ayush Doseja (run out) 29, Ayush Badoni c Urvil b Jaymeet 217, Sumit Mathur c Abhishek b Hingrajia 92, Anuj Rawat (not out) 61; Extras (b-12, lb-13, w-7): 32; Total (for six wkts. decl. in 136.4 overs): 648.

Fall of wickets: 1-67, 2-87, 3-142, 4-376, 5-543, 6-648.

Gujarat bowling: Gaja 24-4-91-0, Nagwaswalla 24-1-91-0, Harshal 18-0-97-2, Jaymeet 18-6-66-1, Siddharth 26-2-127-0, Hingrajia 14.4-1-72-2, Jayswal 11-0-76-0, Aarya 1-0-3-0.

Gujarat — 1st innings: Abhishek Desai c Doseja b Shokeen 34, Aarya Desai c Dhull b Shokeen 11, Vedant Trivedi c Rawat b Divij 38, Manan Hingrajia (batting) 108, Urvil Patel c Badoni b Shokeen 23, Jaymeet Patel c Sanat b Saini 72, Chintan Gaja (batting) 41; Extras (b-25, lb-7, w-1, nb-3): 36; Total (for five wkts. in 120 overs): 363.

Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-79, 3-118, 4-153, 5-277.

Delhi bowling: Divij 13-2-34-1, Saini 20-4-46-1, Shokeen 31-3-94-3, Grewal 14-2-40-0, Badoni 17-3-53-0, Mathur 13-1-39-0, Priyansh 7-1-13-0, Doseja 5-0-12-0.