Yash Dhul hits double century in Ranji debut
India Under-19 star Yash Dhull fulfilled his dream of first-class debut by scoring his second century in the game as the Ranji Trophy Group H match between Delhi and Tamil Nadu ended in a draw here on Sunday.
With 113 not out off 202 balls on the fourth and final day, Dhul became the third batsman after Nari Contractor (1952/53) and Virag Awate (2012/13) to score a century in each innings at the start of the Ranji Trophy.
Shah Rukh Khan gave Tamil Nadu the most important first innings lead on the third day with a sensational first innings total of 194 off 148 balls, Dhul and his senior opening partner Dhruv Shourie (107 off 165) batted for 60.5 overs to take Delhi Reached 228 for no loss. Earlier in the second innings, the players joined hands for a draw.
Dhull, who came straight into the game from an Under-19 World Cup win in the Caribbean and recently didn’t have red-ball cricket under his belt, immediately showed that he belongs to the first-class level. His second century of the match came in easy batting conditions. With pressure at seven for two on day two in Delhi, the 19-year-old showed remarkable skill and maturity to help the team out of trouble and help Lalit Yadav to 452 runs.
Thanks to Shah Rukh’s brutal hitting performance, Tamil Nadu scored three points higher than Delhi after reaching 494 in their first innings.
Delhi will face Jharkhand in their second game on February 24.
“Sport wise, Dhul is ready to play for India”
After the game, Delhi coach Raj Kumar Sharma, who is also his childhood coach Virat KohliSaid that Dhul should be included in the Indian team expeditiously.
“He is ready for the next level (India) game. I want to fast-track him. When he spends time with the senior players in the India setup, he will only become a better player.”
“Yash has shown that he can dominate in white-ball cricket as well as have the game to do well in the longer version. It was a dream for him. On day one we were under pressure and the way he would have liked. It was the sight of Sandeep Warrier. We were under pressure in Tamil Nadu but his mood was different.”
The coach also picked his first century out of two scored in the game as Tamil Nadu put him to bat in test conditions.
Sharma said that his team played well and Shah Rukh’s innings separated the two teams.
“He played some incredible shots and took the game away from us. If it wasn’t for him, the first innings lead was ours. As the game progressed, the wicket got better and better and by the fourth day no help to the bowlers not found.”
Ishant, Saini available for Jharkhand match
Delhi’s bowling will be strengthened by the return of India’s fast bowlers Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini. Ishant, who was dropped from the Sri Lanka series next month, has started training after completing his five-day quarantine. “Ishant has started training and the availability of him and Navdeep for the next match is good news for us and strengthens the bowling a lot,” Sharma said. Ishant had earlier declared himself unavailable for selection for league games.
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