Indian cricket stars headlined the final round of matches in the Ranji Trophy on Thursday. Virat Kohli turned out for Delhi in their match against Railways at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Over in Bengaluru, it was KL Rahul who was at the centre of attention as Karnataka took on Haryana.
There was a decent turnout at the Chinnaswamy stadium to watch their local heroes play. KV Aneesh was the first wicket to fall for 17 as he was out bowled by Anshul Kamboj. There was a huge cheer from the fans as Rahul strode out to bat at number three for the home team.
Mayank Agarwal is well set, having completed his half-century. KL Rahul was eventually dismissed for 26 from 37 balls by Kamboj. This was Rahul’s first Ranji match in five years as he gets ready for a huge white-ball season ahead.
Delhi pacers leave Railways reeling; Riyan Parag returns to action
Virat Kohli’s return to the team saw the Delhi pacers put up an inspiring spell with the ball. Siddhant Sharma and Money Grewal picked two wickets apiece to leave Railways at 87/5 at lunch. Navdeep Saini was the other wicketkeeper as he went past the defence of Vivek Singh for a duck.
Riyan Parag is back after a long layoff due to injury and is leading Assam in their game against Saurashtra. Veteran stars Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja are playing the match as the hosts were placed at 181/1 from 39 overs. Harvik Desai was batting on 87 and Chirag Jani was out for 80 off just 78 balls with 14 boundaries.
Meghalaya were bowled out for 86 as Shardul Thakur took a hattrick on the opening day of the game. The 33-year-old picked 4/43 from 11 overs, while Mohit Avasthi picked 3/27 from seven overs. Mumbai had lost Ayush Mhatre for five to be dealt a huge blow before lunch.