Mohit Avasthi (PTI Photo)
Delhi-Gujarat tie ends in a high-scoring draw
In reply to Delhi’s 648 for six declared, Gujarat made 479. The Delhi-Gujarat match at the Palam ground in New Delhi ended in a high-scoring draw, with the players shaking hands at tea. After losing to Bengal in their opening match, Delhi picked up three points to open their account, while Gujarat had to settle for one.
Punjab’s Gill misses out on batting in second innings
Seamer Mohit Avasthi returned five for 44 in 16 overs, the seventh five-wicket haul of his firstclass career, to bowl Mumbai to an innings-and-97-run victory over Himachal Pradesh on the final day of their Elite Group D Ranji Trophy match at the Luhnu Cricket Ground in Bilaspur on Wednesday. Resuming on 144 for three, Himachal put up a gallant fight, batting for 99.1 overs and stretching their second-innings total to 291, after having folded inside 40 overs in the first innings. Wicketkeeper-batter Vaibhav Kalta (63, 169b, 10×4) and captain Pukhraj Mann (50, 126b, 6×4) delayed Mumbai’s charge by adding 85 in 197 balls for the fourth wicket. Apart from Avasthi, Deshpande took two for 60 to finish with match figures of six for 106, while the tireless Shams Mulani claimed two for 52. Prabhsimran Singh (24) batted at Gill’s usual No. 4 position. Following up his 161 in the first innings, the Punjab captain then smashed an unbeaten 40 off just 36 balls to steer his side to a seven-wicket victory.
After being dismissed for one in the first innings against Chhattisgarh at Mullanpur in New Chandigarh, India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill missed out on batting in the second innings after being off the field for the entire day on Wednesday.
The emphatic victory earned Mumbai a bonus point for the second match in a row, taking them to the top of the table with 14 points from two matches.