New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) Skipper Ayush Badoni’s audacious 99 helped Delhi take the first innings lead against Railways after pacer Himanshu Sangwan got the coveted wicket of Virat Kohli on day two of their Group D Ranji Trophy match here on Friday.

Resuming the day at 41/1, Delhi were able to get past Railways’ 241 courtesy a 133-run stand between Badoni (99 off 77) and Sumit Mathur (78 not out off 189). At stumps, Delhi had taken a 93-run lead by reaching 334/7.

Badoni put the opposition bowlers under pressure with a fearless display of stroke-making before falling to a slog sweep of leg-spinner Karn Sharma in the 56th over.

Railways pacers were a tad unlucky in not getting a breakthrough in the first hour of play with Yash Dhull (32 off 69) and Sanat Sangwan living dangerously. After a few streaky boundaries, Dhull played a copybook cover drive before being adjudged leg before wicket off left-arm pacer Rahul Sharma.

Dhull’s dismissal brought Virat Kohli to the middle, drawing a loud roar from the fans. However, the joy of fans was short-lived as the superstar went for an expansive drive off Himanshu Sangwan but the missed the ball completely to see his off-stump uprooted.

Kohli had drilled a straight boundary the ball before but standing outside the crease, he went for the attack again only to miss the ball that seamed back in slightly.

Sangwan also breached the defenses of opener Sanat Sangwan (30 off 81) in the following over leaving Delhi at 97 for four in the 30th over.

Delhi captain Badoni then led from the front to put his team in a strong position. He took the attack to Railways especially left-arm spinner Ayan Chaudhari, dispatching him for three sixes.

He entered into his 90s with back-to-back sixes before mistiming a sweep off Karn Sharma to be caught at short fine-leg on 99. The sweep had yielded him the desired results until his dismissal in the 56th over.

Badoni’s innings comprised 12 fours and three sixes. It was an innings that underlined his contribution to Delhi’s campaign this season. He is both the leading run-getter and leading wicket-taker for his team in Ranji Trophy.

Tamil Nadu inch closer to quarterfinals

Tamil Nadu took control of their fate as they inched closer to the quarterfinals, needing 97 runs to win their match against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur.

After sizzling with a six wicket haul on the opening day, spin all-rounder Utkarsh Singh made a crucial contribution with the bat, scoring 35 runs in Jharkhand’s second innings, as the hosts set Tamil Nadu a 233-run target for the win.

Resuming at 5/1, Utkarsh and Aditya Singh were the joint top-scorers for Jharkhand in their second innings, both scoring 35 each.

Tamil Nadu lost five wickets in their chase with Vijay Shankar and Ajith Ram batting on 33 and 5 at stumps.

Tamil Nadu, who currently lead the group with 25 points, need just a draw to secure a quarterfinal spot.

Pujara misses out on century as Saurashtra dominate

Veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara fell agonis.ingly short of a century, scoring 99, as Saurashtra strengthened their grip over Assam by enforcing a follow-on in their Ranji game.

After adding 114 runs to their overnight score, Saurashtra posted a commanding total of 474.

Their bowlers then delivered a dominant performance, bundling Assam out for just 164 in 41 overs. With a massive lead, Saurashtra enforced the follow-on, putting Assam under further pressure.

At stumps, Assam reached 67/1 but still trailed by 243 runs, facing an uphill battle to avoid defeat.

Saurashtra will look to wrap up the game quickly on Saturday with a bonus point victory.

Brief Scores: In Delhi: Railways 241 all out. Delhi 334/7 in 96 Overs (Ayush Badoni 99, Pranav Rajuvanshi 39, Sumit Mathur 78 Not Out; Himanshu Sangwan 2/46. ar samar 60 not out ). Assam 164 all out in 41 overs (Riyan Parag 51, Mukhtar Hussain 46 Not out;

In Jamshedpur: Jharkhand 185 and 154 (Utkarsh Singh 35; Aditya Singh 35; Sai Kishore 5/43) Lead by 96 Runs Over Tamil Nadu 106 All OUT and 137/5 (Mohamed Ali 44, MAHAMED ALI 36). Pti

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