New Delhi, Feb. 17 (IANS): Centuries from India's U19 World Cup winning captain Yash Dhull, senior Test batter Ajinkya Rahane and youngster Sarfaraz Khan were the highlights on day one of the 2021/22 Ranji Trophy on Thursday.
On the day India's premier domestic cricket competition returned, hundreds coming out of the bat of Dhull, Rahane and Sarfaraz apart from Karnataka duo Manish Pandey and KV Siddharth stood out the most.
In Delhi's Elite Group H contest against Tamil Nadu at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Dhull scored 113 off 150 balls, including 18 boundaries, to continue his cricketing fairy tale.
Dhull opened the batting for Delhi after Tamil Nadu skipper Vijay Shankar elected to bowl first. Dhull watched his opening partner Dhruv Shorey get out for one followed by one-drop Himmat Singh dismissed for a duck as pacer Sandeep Warrier bagged both wickets.
Dhull was firm in his first innings at the senior level, leading Delhi's recovery from 7/2 with a 60-run partnership with Nitish Rana (25) for the third wicket followed by a 119-run association with Jonty Sidhu for the fourth wicket. When Dhull was on 97, he was dismissed by pacer M Mohammed but the ball turned out to be a no-ball, giving the youngster a reprieve.
A cut through point off off-spinner Baba Aparajith took him to his maiden century in first-class cricket with his Delhi team-mates and support staff giving a huge round of applause. Dhull continued to fetch runs till he was trapped lbw by Mohammed for 113. In his knock, Dhull amassed 48 runs from off-side while scoring 65 runs through the on-side.
The month of February has been a great one for Dhull, who captained India to winning the U19 World Cup final against England at Antigua. In the tournament, he made 229 runs in four innings at an average of 76.33.
It includes 82 against South Africa in the tournament opener and 110 against Australia in the semi-final. In between, he missed matches against Ireland and Uganda due to Covid-19 infection. After the World Cup triumph, Dhull was included in Delhi's squad for Ranji Trophy and also bagged an IPL contract with Delhi Capitals worth INR 50L.
For Rahane, under pressure due to the lean patch in Test cricket, the timing of his hundred against Saurashtra in Mumbai's Elite Group D match at the Narendra Modi Stadium Ground 'A' couldn't have been better. Rahane reached his century in 212 balls, hitting 14 fours and 2 sixes along the way. He scored 60 runs through the off-side and 48 runs through the on-side.
Giving him company in the mammoth 219-run stand for the fourth wicket was Sarfaraz, unconquered at 121 off 219 balls, including 15 fours and two sixes. The duo were essential in resurrecting Mumbai's innings from 44/3 to reaching 263/3 in 87 overs at stumps.
Meanwhile, in the Elite Group C match at the Gurunanak College Ground in Chennai, Karnataka finished the day at 392/5 in 90 overs. Pandey, Karnataka's skipper, slammed an 83-ball century and then changed gears to make 156 runs off 121 balls before being dismissed by Shivam Chaudhary. His partner for the 267-stand, Siddharth, is still unbeaten at the crease with 140 not out off 221 balls, including 17 fours and two sixes.