Ravindra Jadeja was unplayable on a spinners’ paradise and added another seven to his first innings five-for as Saurashtra all but ensured Delhi’s exit from Ranji Trophy with a 10-wicket victory inside two days in Group D, on Friday. While the famed Indian batters were huge flops across games, all-rounder Jadeja showed why he is still menacing on tracks that offer significant help. The hosts pounded Delhi by dismissing them for a mere 94 in 25.2 overs in their second innings. This was after Saurashtra did well enough to score 271.

The 83-run first innings lead on a difficult track proved to be decisive. Saurashtra scored the required 12 runs in just 3.1 overs. The match lasted little over 150 overs across two days.

After six rounds, Saurashtra (18 points) are back in the hunt to qualify for the knock-out stages from group D along with Tamil Nadu (19 from 5 games), who are in good position to win outright against Chandigarh (18 points from 5 games).

Delhi with 14 points have one home game left against Railways and even a seven-point win might not be enough if Saurashtra or Chandigarh manage outright wins in their last games.

The Rishabh Pant fans were left high and dry as he got out for 17 in the second essay after scoring 1. In the first innings, he had holed out in the deep trying to slog-sweep left-arm spinner Dharmendra Jadeja.

In the second innings , the more famous Jadeja, Ravindra, brought him forward and extra bounce had him edge to Sheldon Jackson in the first slip.

Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat had said before the game that they will prepare rank turner and go for seven points in their bid to make it to knock-out stage.

Save skipper Ayush Badoni (44), who once again looked good and Pant, who tried to counter attack briefly, none of the Delhi batters had an inkling which of Jadeja’s deliveries would turn and which ones would go straight.

Some of them tried to sweep without much success while others were not assured of their footwork.

The difference was in class of spin attack. Both the Jadejas — Ravindra and Dharmendra — didn’t try to extract turn on a diabolical track and just pitched it in right areas. The two Delhi left-arm spinners Harsh Tyagi (4/71 in 17 overs) and Sumit Mathur (0/57 in 13 overs) went at more than four runs per over on a spin-friendly track.

After the end of the match, Jadeja was seen giving tips to Tyagi, who has been a big letdown for Delhi throughout the season while Pant had some advice for young Saurashtra keeper Harvik Desai.

Suraj, Sharandeep and Utkarsh shine for Jharkhand 

Opener Kumar Suraj (104) scored a century and was ably supported by Sharandeep Singh (69) and Utkarsh Singh (62), who helped themselves with a half-century each. Jharkhand were sitting pretty at 304 for 4 in their first innings against Chattishgarh after end of second day’s play in Jamshedpur.

Jharkhand now enjoy a 74-run first innings lead after bowling out Chattisgarh for 230 in their first innings.

On the day, Jharkhand openers Suraj and Sharandeep added 179 for the opening stand to set up a nice platform. Suraj hit 11 fours and one six while Sharandeep had fours to his credit.

While the openers were dogged in their approach, Utkarsh during his 83-ball knock upped the ante with nine crisp boundaries to his credit. He looked good for a big score before off-spinner Jivesh Bhutte had him caught by Gagandeep Singh.

Ajith, Sai Kishore give TN first innings lead

On a day dominated by left-arm spinners, Tamil Nadu’s seasoned duo of Ajith Ram (5/34) and R Sai Kishore (3/48) bowled out Chandigarh for 204 to give Tamil Nadu a sizeable first innings lead of 97 on the second day in Salem.

At stumps, the lead swelled to 124 as the hosts ended the day’s play at 27 for 2 in their second innings. Tamil Nadu scored 301 riding on teenager C Andre Siddarth’s century.

Upendra Scores 82 in Railways’ 198 for 5

Former India A keeper-batter Upendra Yadav remained unbeaten on 82 as Railways reached 198 for 5 against Assam after the match started on the second day in Guwahati. There was no play possible on first day.

Brief Scores: *Delhi 188 and 94 in 25.2 overs (Rishabh Pant 17, Ravindra Jadeja 7/38).

Saurashtra 271 (Harvik Desai 93, Ravindra Jadeja 38, Harsh Tyagi 4/71) and 15/0 in 3.1 overs.

Points: Saurashtra 7; Delhi 0 *Chattisgrah 1st Innings 230. Jharkhand 304 for 4 in 94 overs (Kumar Suraj 104, Sharandeep Singh 69, Utkarsh Singh 62).

*Tamil Nadu 301 and 27/2.

Chandigarh 1st Innings: 204 (Ajith Ram 5/34, R Sai Kishore 3/48).

*Railways 198 for 5 in 67 overs (Upendra Yadav 82 batting, Mukhtar Hussain 2/18) vs Assam.

Ravindra Jadeja ended the year 2024 with 562 runs in 20 Tests and 23 innings.© X@saucricket

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant‘s luggage and kit bag has already reached the Delhi team’s hotel in Rajkot ahead of their Ranji Trophy clash against Saurashtra, which will be starting from January 23 onwards, as per the sources in Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA). As per sources, Rishabh is ‘very excited’ to be the part of Ranji Trophy competition for Delhi this season. During the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia away from home, Pant made 255 runs in five matches and nine innings at an average of 28.33, and a strike rate of 59.02, with one half-century. He was the sixth-highest run-getter in the series.

Marking his return to international cricket last year after a life-threatening road accident at 2022-end, Pant made a fabulous comeback to Test cricket after securing the ICC T20 World Cup title in Barbados. Scoring a century in his comeback Test against Bangladesh in Chennai in September, Pant made 677 runs in 10 matches and 19 innings at an average of 37.61 during the ICC World Test Championship cycle of 2023-25. This also includes a century and four fifties, with the best score of 109.

Rishabh last participated in the Ranji Trophy back in the 2017/18 edition, playing his last match against Vidarbha in the final at Indore. He had led Delhi to the finals as captain but could not win them the title. He scored 21 and 32 runs in the title clash as Vidarbha won by nine wickets in a one-sided final.

In seven matches in the tournament back then, Pant scored 315 runs in nine innings at an average of 35.00, with a solitary half-century and best score of 99.

His return will boost Delhi’s form, currently sitting at fourth spot in their group with a win, loss and three draws, giving them 14 points.

Notably, Star India batter Virat Kohli has been added to the Delhi squad for their upcoming Ranji Trophy clashes, but his playing is dependent on his availability, said the sources in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).

The sources said that while Virat is not likely to play the first match against Saurashtra in Group D, starting from January 23 in Rajkot, he could join the team for the second match against Railways starting from January 30.

The news on Virat’s availability comes when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken a much harder stance regarding the participation of Indian international stars in domestic cricket. In a new policy released on Thursday, it made it “mandatory” to participate in domestic matches to remain “eligible” for selection in the national team and for the central contracts.

In the policy, BCCI stated that taking part in domestic cricket will remain connected to the cricket ecosystem. The statement added that any exceptions to taking part in domestic cricket will be considered only under extraordinary circumstances.

“Participation in Domestic Matches is mandatory for players to remain eligible for selection in the national team and for central contracts, as per BCCI guidelines. This policy ensures that players remain connected to the domestic cricket ecosystem, fostering talent development, maintaining match fitness, and strengthening the overall domestic structure. It also inspires emerging players by providing them opportunities to compete alongside top cricketers, ensuring continuity in talent progression. Any exceptions to this mandate will be considered only under extraordinary circumstances and will require formal notification and approval from the Chairman of the Selection Committee, ensuring fairness and transparency in the process,” BCCI said in a statement.

Recently, Team India conceded a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Australia in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 and lost the opportunity to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final at Lord’s. Also, before this, their 0-3 whitewash to New Zealand at home before the Australia tour led to debates if international stars should play domestic cricket regularly or not.

Earlier on Tuesday, Rohit Sharma reunited with Mumbai’s squad for their training sessions ahead of the second phase of the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, according to ESPNcricinfo.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill also confirmed his availability for Punjab’s upcoming Ranji Trophy sixth-round fixture against Karnataka, set to begin on January 23 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Tamil Nadu began their campaign in Ranji Trophy 2024-25 with a dominant win.© X/@BCCIDomestic

From making Virat Kohli “angry” in the nets to castling Cheteshwar Pujara in a crucial Ranji Trophy match, Tamil Nadu pacer Gurjapneet Singh has caught the eyes of cricket lovers in India. Born and raised in Ambala, Gurjapneet constantly failed to get into Punjab age-group team, before finally deciding to move to Chennai for better opportunities. After initial struggles, Gurjapneet is now winning games in Ranji Trophy for his adopted state, Tamil Nadu. The 25-year-old claimed a six-wicket haul to help Tamil Nadu beat Saurashtra in their Elite Group D match on Monday.

His remarkable figures of 14-5-22-6 included the crucial wickets of veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Sheldon Jackson.

For the unversed, Gurjapneet was one of the net bowlers for India for their two-match Test series against Bangladesh recently.

In a recent interaction, Gurjapneet recalled castling Kohli in the nets, which infuriated the star batter.

“After I bowled him, I looked at him and didn’t dare to look at him again. He was very, very angry. But I realised, he was angry with himself more than anything. And after a straight drive, he again looked at me and smiled,” Gurjapneet told the Indian Express.

However, Gurjapneet also revealed Kohli’s advice, which helped him get the better of the Saurashtra batters.

“He told me, when there is no movement, change the angle and try bowling around the wicket. Because with that angle, even if you manage to get slight movement, it will end up troubling most batsmen,” he further revealed.

Meanwhile, Kohli will be back in action on Wednesday as India take on New Zealand in the first Test in Bengaluru.

The young pacer also shed light on how he planned Pujara’s dismissal, describing the latter as a “legend”.

“When you bowl to a legendary batsman like him, you have to be accurate from the word go. So the plan was to push him on the backfoot and then send in a good front foot ball that would make him uncomfortable. Having gone wicketless in the first innings, Bala bhai (L Balaji) told me to go out there looking for a wicket as there is a strong chance that I would deviate from the plan. And with the pitch not offering much, around the stumps was the best option and it worked as we also saw (Jaydev) Unadkat do the same in the morning session” Gurjapneet added.

Cheteshwar Pujara endured a six-ball duck as Saurashtra were left reeling at 35/5, trailing by 129 runs in the second innings with Tamil Nadu taking complete command of their Ranji Trophy Group D clash. On the third day of the season-opener, Tamil Nadu’s left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh ran riot in the Saurashtra ranks, returning 9-5-7-4 as the visitors were left staring at a huge task at the close of play. Saurashtra conceded a massive first-innings lead of 164 as TN folded for 367 after resuming at 278/3 against the visitor’s 203.

Javdev Unadkat returned 6/61 from his 24 overs.

Gurjapneet’s victims included Pujara, who made 16 in the first essay, as the out-of-favour India batter was trapped in front of the wickets in the second innings.

Arpit Vasavada (15 not out) and Sheldon Jackson (5 not out) were at the crease.

In Chandigarh, Railways completed a comprehensive win by 181 runs as the hosts were shot out for another poor total of 159 in 40.2 overs chasing 341.

Akash Pandey (4/46), Karn Sharma (3/18) and Himanshu Sangwan (2/28) caused the damage as Chandigarh, despite some resistance from Arslan Khan (46) and Ankit Kaushik (45), folded quickly again.

In another match, Delhi took a slender lead of 14 runs in the first innings but Chhattisgarh edged ahead, reaching 33 for no loss to move ahead by 19 runs at stumps on the third day.

While skipper Himmat Singh made 65 (123 balls 8x4s, 1x6s), it was Jonty Sidhu’s 170-ball 103 not out (11 fours, 2 sixes) which gave Delhi a slight advantage.

In Guwahati, hosts Assam were placed in a tricky position of 130/3, leading by 51 runs, after being asked to follow-on.

Assam were shot out for a mere 180 in reply to Jharkhand’s 361 in the first innings.

Brief scores: At Coimbatore: Saurashtra 203 & 35/5 in 25 overs (Arpit Vasavada 15*, Gurjapneet 4/7) trail Tamil Nadu 367 in 121.3 overs (B Sai Sudharsan 82, N Jagadeesan 100, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 49; Jaydev Unadkat 6/61) by 129 runs.

At Chandigarh: Railways 142 & 307 beat Chandigarh 109 & 159 in 40.2 overs (Arslan Khan 46; Akash Pandey 4/46, Karn Sharma 3/18) by 181 runs.

At Raipur: Chhattisgarh 343 & 33/0 in 8 overs (Ayush Pandey 22*) lead Delhi 357 in 116.2 overs (Himmat Singh 65, Jonty Sidhu 103*; Ajay Mandal 3/101, Ashish Chouhan 3/53) by 19 runs.

At Guwahati: Jharkhand 361 lead Assam 180 in 70.2 overs (Sibsankar Roy 42; Utkarsh Singh 3/41, Manishi 3/41) & f/o 130/3 in 55 overs (Parves Musaraf 57; Manishi 1/32).