Bengal relied on its spinners’ combined yield of seven wickets and its openers’ brisk chase to record a hard-earned nine-wicket win over Delhi and grab six points in its Ranji Trophy opener at the Bengal Cricket Academy ground here on Wednesday.

Re-starting its second innings at 101 for three, Delhi rode on skipper Ayush Badoni’s brilliant 85 (134b, 10×4) to post 277 and set Bengal 89 to win in the last session. The home team crossed the line in 15.3 overs.

Following his five-wicket haul, Badoni led Delhi’s fight with his bat. He and his overnight left-handed partner Anuj Rawat (39, 76b, 7×4) drove and swept well to consolidate with a vital 95-run partnership on a slow pitch.

Off-spinner Aamir Gani used the rough to provide the breakthrough as Rawat was bowled around his legs while trying a reverse sweep.

Retired hurt overnight, Yash Dhull added 45 with Badoni as Delhi erased the deficit.

Part-timer Sumanta Gupta’s off-break ball jumped to hit Dhull’s pad and brushed his gloves on its way to first slip at the stroke of lunch.

Delhi lost three quick wickets after the break. Badoni’s dismissal, with left-arm spinner Pradipta Pramanik finding his outside edge from over the wicket, followed by the fall of Dev Lakra and Hrithik Shokeen to Gani and Pramanik respectively, gave the host hope.

The visitor’s tail-enders frustrated Bengal for 20 overs before the inevitable.

Bengal openers Abhimanyu Easwaran (34 n.o., 40b, 2×4) and Ankur Paul (38, 41b, 3×4) then collected 64 runs at a healthy rate. While the captain rotated the strike, the diminutive debutant executed big hits, including a stunning straight six off Divij Mehra, to deflate the pressure. When Paul holed out, the task was a mere formality for Bengal.

“Gupta has a different trajectory. I introduced him to exploit the rough,” said Abhimanyu, while praising Paul’s innings.

The scores:

Delhi — 1st innings: 240.

Bengal — 1st innings: 429.

Delhi — 2nd innings: Sarthak Ranjan b Akash 3, Sanat Sangwan b Pramanik 25, Yash Dhull c Abhimanyu b Sumanta 22, Ayush Doseja c sub b Mukesh 19, Ayush Badoni c Abhimanyu b Pramanik 85, Anuj Rawat b Gani 39, Dev Lakra st Porel b Gani 13, Hrithik Shokeen b Pramanik 8, Divij Mehra c Porel b Shami 21, Navdeep Saini (not out) 20, Simarjeet Singh b Sumanta 11; Extras (b-6, lb-3, w-1, nb-1): 11; Total (in 106.2 overs): 277.

Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-51, 3-59, 4-154, 5-199, 6-213, 7-225, 8-225, 9-256.

Bengal bowling: Shami 18-7-29-1, Akash 16-5-29-1, Mukesh 12-4-34-1, Gani 24-4-84-2, Pramanik 33-11-72-3, Sumanta 3.2-0-20-2.

Bengal — 2nd innings: Abhimanyu Easwaran (not out) 34, Ankur Paul c Lakra b Shokeen 38, Sudip Gharami (not out) 16: Extras (w-1): 1; Total (for one wkt. in 15.3 overs): 89.

Fall of wicket: 1-64.

Delhi bowling: Badoni 2-0-11-0, Mehra 4-0-18-0, Shokeen 4-0-27-1, Simarjeet 2-0-18-0, Saini 3-0-13-0, Ranjan 0.3-0-2-0.

Published – October 14, 2026 05:45 pm IST

Deadly duo: Pacers Akash Deep, left, and Mohammed Shami will be key to Bengal’s fortunes when it takes on Delhi in its season opener at the Bengal Cricket Academy in Kalyani from Sunday, October 11, 2026.
| Photo Credit: File photo: PTI