Ranji Trophy: Spinner Nishant sets up Haryana’s win over Punjab

Left-arm spinner Nishant Sindhu emerged as the wrecker-in-chief, claiming a five-wicket haul in the second innings setting up Haryana’s triumph

Needing 144 to win with seven wickets in hand against Haryana on the third day of the Ranji Trophy tie at the Chaudhry Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Lahli, Punjab faltered and fell 37 runs short of the target to lose the game.

Player of Delhi team playing against Chandigarh team during Ranji Trophy at LIC Ground, Sector 26, Chandigarh on Friday. (Keshav Singh/HT)

Left-arm spinner Nishant Sindhu emerged as the wrecker-in-chief, claiming a five-wicket haul in the second innings setting up Haryana’s triumph. In the first innings, the 20-year-old had scalped six wickets. Sindhu, an under-19 World Cup winner in 2022, has also broken into the IPL ranks with Chennai Super Kings. He used the assistance offered at the Lahli wicket to pick 11 wickets in the match.

From 73/3, Punjab were bowled out for 179 runs in 39.4 overs in their second innings, while trying to chase the target. Overnight batters, Salil Arora (57), Prabhsimran Singh (23) and Nehal Wadhera were the notable scorers for Punjab. Spinner Jayant Yadav too bowled well for Haryana taking three wickets for the hosts.

In reply to Haryana’s first innings total of 114, Punjab made 141. In the second innings, Haryana scored 243 while Punjab were restricted to 179.

Chandigarh need 157 to win against Delhi

Chandigarh need 157 runs in their second innings to record a win over Delhi in their Ranji Trophy match being played at the Government Model Senior Secondary School (GMSSS), Sector 26, Chandigarh. With 10 wickets in hand, Chandigarh would fancy their chances against Delhi on Friday. For the hosts, Arslan Khan (15) and Shivam Bhambri (31) are at the crease chasing the target.

In reply to Delhi’s 276, the hosts scored 324 runs and gained a lead of 48 runs. On the third day of the match, Delhi extended its overnight score of 32/0. Vishu drew the first blood for the day when he dismissed Anuj Rawat (20) at a team score of 42. Yash Dhull and Sanat Sangwan came to the rescue by adding 96 runs for the second wicket. Spinner Gurinder Singh marked the end of this association when he accounted Dhull (58) with 138/2 on the board. In the same spell, Singh dismissed well-settled batter Sanat Sangwan (70). Thereafter, Nishunk Birla grabbed Ayush Badoni (1) cheaply at a score of 168. When Shivam Bhambri found Kshitij Sharma (11) short of his crease, half of the opponent team returned at a score of 186. Birla (6/65) took the last five wickets - skipper Himmat Singh (26), Sumit Mathur (10), Shivank Vashisht (1), Siddhant (15) and Hrithik Shookin (33) - and bundled out Delhi for 250 runs. Birla had taken a six-wicket haul in the first innings as well for Chandigarh.