Haren
Delhi’s weather on Wednesday mirrored its cricket team—muggy and lacking clarity.
In the latest change of Delhi’s captaincy, Ayush Badoni has taken over after Himmat Singh was dismissed from the role following a nine-wicket loss against hosts Chandigarh last week. Badoni, previously the designated vice-captain, was promoted, while former captain and their best batter in this season Yash Dhull has now been appointed as his deputy. Notably, last season, both Dhull and Badoni were informed separately by different DDCA officials that they would captain Delhi. Dhull was eventually given the role but was replaced after one match, a heavy defeat against Pondicherry, leading to Himmat’s appointment as captain.
On the field, Delhi’s struggles continued. With the Air Quality Index (AQI) hovering between 350 and 400 in the capital, Jharkhand opener Sharandeep Singh showed resilience with a gritty unbeaten 64 against Delhi on Day 1 of their Group D Ranji Trophy fixture at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in New Delhi.
The match began two hours late due to smog. After a third inspection, umpires S. Ravi and Akshya Totre called the captains for the toss. Jharkhand’s stand-in skipper Virat Singh won the toss and opted to bat.
Delhi fielded a four-pronged pace attack. Left-arm pacer Sidhant Sharma and Simarjeet Singh managed to keep Jharkhand’s batters quiet. Though they restricted runs, they did not attack the stumps effectively. First-change bowler Money Grewal provided the breakthrough with a perfect outswinger; Nizam poked at it without moving his feet, and Himmat Singh took a sharp catch at first slip. Returning from injury, Simarjeet looked sharp in his second spell and used a nip-backer to bowl Aryaman Sen (5).
Sharandeep, however, continued with his rearguard batting. He got off the mark with a streaky boundary that flew between second slip and gully. From there, he showed immense composure, playing delightful shots as his innings progressed. During his 183-ball stay at the crease, he struck nine boundaries. Sharandeep and Utkarsh Singh (46) added 93 runs for the third wicket in 31 overs. Delhi’s seamers bowled wide, allowing the pair to leave deliveries comfortably, while they capitalized on loose balls to keep the scoreboard ticking.
After the tea break, Sidhant finally provided a breakthrough, dismissing Utkarsh just four runs short of his fifty. Delhi glimpsed a chance, but poor light forced the umpires to call off play early. Only 55 overs were bowled on Day 1, and with no improvement in weather forecasted, more overs could be lost in the coming days.
For Delhi, Simarjeet Singh, Sidhant Sharma, and Money Grewal each claimed a wicket.
Brief Scores: Jharkhand: 136 for 3 in 55 overs (Sharandeep Singh 64no; Simarjeet 1/16)
