‘Dangerous and unfit’ pitch
New Delhi, Dec 21: The Ranji Trophy match between Railways and Punjab at the Karnail Singh Stadium was on Wednesday suspended after the track was deemed “dangerous and unfit for play” by the match officials, who decided to have a two-day game on a new surface beginning Thursday. As many as 24 wickets fell in just 103 overs with fast bowlers accounting for 20 of them when play was stopped by the match officials. Punjab was at 18 for 4 in their second essay after taking a 12-run first innings lead. “I have never seen a wicket like that in Ranji before. The bounce was too unpredictable making the pitch very unsafe. What we have been told that the game will be played on a fresh pitch,” Punjab batter Abhishek Sharma said. “The umpires and match referee took the right call to abandon today’s play and start afresh tomorrow. Players put a lot of effort into preparation for this game so disappointed to see a wicket like that.” (PTI)
Shorey scores unbeaten 252 for Delhi
Guwahati, Dec 21: Delhi opener Dhruv Shorey carried his bat through the innings to score an unbeaten 252 that helped the visitors post massive 439 against Assam on Day 2 of their Group B contest at Amingaon Cricket Ground here on Wednesday. Sidharth Sarmah and Mrinmoy Dutta claimed 3 wickets each for the host, while Akash Sengupta (2/82), Mukhtar Hussain (1/81) and Riyan Parag (1/101) accounted for the other wickets. In response, Assam were 158 for the loss of four wickets with Rishav Das and Gokul Sharma batting on 71 and 39 respectively at the end of the day’s play. Delhi, who lost their tournament opener to Maharashtra, fielded a depleted unit in the absence of injured pacers Ishant Sharma and Mayank Yadav. They were forced to field three debutants in Harshit Rana, Pranshu Vijayran and Hrithik Shokeen. Senior pacer Navdeep Saini, who suffered an abdominal muscle strain in Bangladesh, is unlikely to be fit in time for Delhi’s next game. (Agencies)