Delhi defeats Haryana by 57 runs

Patiala, Feb 18 (UNI) A blistering 116 by World Cup discard Gataum Gambir helped Delhi to defeat fancied Haryana by 57 runs in a crucial Ranji Trophy limited overs match held today at Dhruv Pandove Stadium here.

Delhi put in to bat by Haryana piled up a score of 294 in 50 overs with the loss of four wickets.

On in reply, Haryana could only muster 237 in 50 overs with loss of seven wickets.

Haryana won the toss and elected to field on a cloudy morning, but both the Delhi openers, Akash Chopra and Gautam Ghambir played with great confidence to give a rollicking start which set the momentum for other Delhi batsmen who followed. Chopra notched up 52 in style, hitting four boundaries.

Shikhar Dhawan scored 42 with two fours and Minhas hit a breezy 30 which contained two fours and a huge six. Delhi piled up 294 for four in 50 overs which was no easy target for Haryana, keeping in view the formidable Delhi pace and spin attack.

For Haryana, Sachin Rana captured two wickets, giving away 52 runs, while Joginder Sharma and Jitender Billa bagged a wicket each, conceding 46 and 56 runs respectively.

In reply, Haryana scored 237 for seven in 50 overs, depriving Delhi of a bonus point, though they lost the match by 57 runs.

Vishal Sahni played beautifully to score 53 in 81 balls, hitting four boundaries; Sachin Rana scored 36 in 54 balls, with two fours and a mighty six.

For Delhi, Abhishek took three for 40 in 10 overs, while left arm spinner Bali took two wickets, conceding 38 runs in 10 overs.

Ashish Nehra was a big disappointment as he failed to bag a wicket in his eight overs and conceded 45 runs. He conceded two fours in his last over which deprived Delhi of a bonus point.

Delhi won by 57 runs and earned four points, taking its tally to six points, and they still have a match coming up against the Services which will be crucial.

UNI