So close, but so far away. So far this season, that has been the story for Tamil Nadu. Because it was hard to see, 61 overs were lost over the course of four days, making it impossible for Tamil Nadu to beat Delhi outright.
Delhi’s score at the end of the first day was 28-1. They were bowled out for 262 runs. Tamil Nadu needed to score 139 runs in 18 overs, and their batsmen tried, but the light was getting dim, so the game ended in a tie. The first two batsmen for Tamil Nadu, Sai Sudharsan (24 off 19 balls) and N Jagadeesan (18 off 11 balls), came out swinging, but it was an uphill battle, and the day’s play was stopped with them at 54 for 3.
The home team won because it took the third umpire eight minutes to decide that there had been no ball. Delhi’s fast bowlers Harshit Rana and Kuldip Yadav did their usual things to waste time, like getting to their bowling mark.
Chasing 139 in the fourth innings, Tamil Nadu raced to 54/3 in 6 overs but the #DELvTN clash of the #RanjiTrophy ended in a draw, with Tamil Nadu getting the first-innings lead. @mastercardindia
Here’s how the action unfolded on the Day 4 🎥https://t.co/DlvqyM7E5R pic.twitter.com/zp6HwZPYex
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) December 30, 2022
In the morning, L. Vignesh gave Tamil Nadu its first break when he got rid of nightwatchman Vikas Mishra, who wasn’t a problem for the scorers, by getting him to edge a ball to Baba Indrajith at first slip. Next, Delhi captain Yash Dhull got off to a good start and was picking up boundaries like they were nothing. He and the experienced Dhruv Shorey quickly put together 51 runs for the third wicket (70). Sai Kishore, a left-arm spinner who made a lot of mistakes in the first innings, caught Dhull with an arm ball.
As soon as Vaibhav Rawal went into the middle, Indrajith called back his fast bowlers and told them to start bowling short. Shorey and Rawal didn’t hold back and went after Warrier and Vignesh. They did this quickly, adding 70 runs to the fourth wicket. Just when it looked like the match was going to end in a boring tie, Sandeep Warrier, who had been working hard to shorten the court, strangled Shorey down the leg side.
Centurion Pradosh Ranjan Paul got rid of Jonty Sidhu, who was 14 at the time, when he holed out to Vijay Shankar at long-off.
Innings Break!
Tamil Nadu need 139 runs to win as Delhi are all out for 262 in the second innings.
Vaibhav Rawal remains uneaten on 95* 👏@Sundarwashi5 stars with a four-wicket haul 👌#RanjiTrophy | #DELvTN | @mastercardindia
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/0QS55bynXl pic.twitter.com/VFG250wYy8
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) December 30, 2022
Himmat Singh was fooled by Sai Kishore’s beautiful sloppy delivery, which threw him off. Warrier had Lalit Yadav (2) caught behind, and Washington Sundar ran out Pranshu Vijayran (1) to leave Delhi reeling at 242 for 8 at tea. After the break, Sundar stopped Harshit Rana’s run of not outs by trapping him lbw. He then bowled No. 11 Kuldip Yadav to end the innings. Vaibhav Rawal was left on the other end because he fell five runs short of his third first-class hundred.
The Tamil Nadu bowlers tried their hardest, led by Washington Sundar (4/43), Sai Kishore (2/53), Sandeep Warrier (2/64), L Vignesh (1/43), and Pradosh Ranjan Paul (1/17). So far this season, TN’s bowling has been great, taking all 60 wickets in the three games.
The top batter for Delhi said that the Tamil Nadu attack was good. “They did better than us at bowling. They had a plan and followed it to the letter. Our bowlers aren’t very experienced, but they did pretty well,” said Shorey.
Shorey, who has scored 579 runs in six innings, was upset that he didn’t reach 100 in either of the two innings. “It’s wrong to get out after being on the wicket for so long,” he said.
.@Sundarwashi5 put on a superb show with the ball and registered figures of 4️⃣-4️⃣3️⃣ 👌👌#DELvTN | #RanjiTrophy | @mastercardindia
Relive his four-wicket haul here 🎥https://t.co/hqSf9uPWwO
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) December 30, 2022
Sai Kishore, a spinner for Tamil Nadu, said that the Kotla surface was “sporting,” and if the lights had been better, they could have won by an outright margin.
“Pitch was about getting results. In the first innings, there was no help for the spinners, and in the second innings, Sai and Sundar realised that slow bowling is the way to go on this track. “We can’t control a few things, but we’re happy with the three points,” Sai Kishore said.
The next match for Tamil Nadu will be in Mumbai, while Delhi will play Saurashtra in Rajkot.
Short Scores
Delhi: 303 & 242 (Vaibhav Rawal is not out and Dhruv Shorey has 70; Washington Sundar has 4/42 and Sai Kishore has 2/53)
Tamil Nadu: 427 for 8 and 54 for 3 declared.
