Himachal Pradesh, who had taken a first innings lead on Day 2, will need 296 runs to win on the final day in Dharamsala. In Thuthipet, left-arm spinner Vanshaj Sharma completed a memorable 10-wicket match haul on his debut as Jammu and Kashmir dismissed Puducherry for 67 in their chase of 87 to register a 19-run win
Ayush Badoni smashed a magnificent hundred as Delhi's batting finally fired in unison to post 381 for six declared in their second innings, setting a target of 327 for Himachal Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy Group D match in Dharamsala on Sunday. (Streaming | More Cricket News)
Badoni hit 12 fours and a six in his 115-ball 111-run knock after the opening duo of Anuj Rawat (54 off 32 balls) and Yash Dhull (82 off 81 balls) gave a flying start to Delhi's second innings.
Skipper Himmat Singh (45 off 45 balls) and Jonty Sidhu (46 off 51 balls) continued the onslaught as Delhi scored at more than six runs an over before declaring their innings. It was their best total in the ongoing Ranji season.
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Himachal Pradesh lost Prashant Chopra (5) in the second over before reaching 31 for one in eight overs with opener Shubham Arora (15) and Ankit Kalsi (7) at the crease at stumps.
Himachal, who had taken a first-inning lead on day two, will need 296 runs to win on the final day.
Earlier, the hosts lost the remaining two wickets in the morning with the addition of just eight runs after resuming their first innings at an overnight score of 311 for 8.
While Himanshu Chauhan (3/72) didn't allow Rishi Dhawan to complete his century, dismissing him at his overnight score of 95, Siddhant Sharma (5/103) claimed the last wicket of Vaibhav Arora (4) to complete a five-wicket haul.
In Thuthipet, left-arm spinner Vanshaj Sharma completed a memorable 10-wicket match haul on his debut as Jammu and Kashmir dismissed Puducherry for 67 in their chase of 87 to register a 19-run win.
Resuming at 35 for 7, Puducherry folded in 35.3 overs with the 20-year-old Sharma claiming all the remaining three wickets, finishing with figures of 5 for 16 to go with his first innings figures of 5 for 74.
On Saturday, another left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq notched up a 10-wicket match haul, his second in first-class cricket. He had taken five for 28 in the second innings and 5 for 64 in the first innings.
Mushtaq was adjudged the Player of the Match for his exploits at the Cricket Association of Pondicherry (CAP) Siechem ground.
With the win, Jammu and Kashmir continued their unbeaten run and grabbed the third place with 18 points, behind Baroda and Madhya Pradesh.
As far as Pondicherry (15) are concerned, their hopes of reaching the knockout stage is almost over.
In Dharamsala: Delhi 264 and 381-6 declared (Ayush Badoni 111; Rishi Dhawan 2/60) vs HP 1st Innings 319 all out (Rishi Dhawan 95, Siddhant Sharma 5/103, Himanshu Chauhan 3/72).
In Cuttack: Uttarakhand 342 and 203 for 8 declared (Jiwanjot Singh 74; Rajesh Mohanty 3/17, Biplab Samantray 3/31) vs Odisha 169 and 17 for 2 in 9 overs (Sandeep Pattnaik 8; Deepak Dhapola 2/8).
In Puducherry: J&K 106 and 152 (Sagar Udeshi 3/48) beat Puducherry 172 and 67 all out in 35.3 overs (Damodaran Rohit 17; Vanshaj Sharma 5/16, Abid Mushtaq 5/28) by 19 runs.
In Indore: Madhya Pradesh 1st Innings 454 vs Baroda 132 and 201 for 3 in 80 overs (Shashwat Rawat 77 not out; Kumar Kartikeya 3/70).