Teenager Himanshu Rana stands tall but Delhi gain lead

Lahli: Debutant Himanshu Rana, 16, stood tall in making 80 (135 balls, eight fours) but with no other Haryana batsman getting to 25 against a disciplined Delhi attack, it was not enough to stop the visiting team from opening up a substantial 90-run lead on the second day of Group B Ranji Trophy league game at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium on Tuesday.

Seeking their fourth victory in as many starts this season, Delhis intent was there for all to see through the day that they ended at seven without loss in their second innings. They will look to build on the good work of the first two days to extend their stay at the top of the Group B, ahead of Punjab, Gujarat and Haryana.

Hard as he tried, Himanshu Rana could not steal the Delhi bowlers thunder. Parwinder Awana started the mayhem by getting Nitin Saini caught by Unmukt Chand and left-arm spinner Varun Sood chipped with three wickets at crucial junctures but young Navdeep Saini and Sumit Narwal were the pick of the bowlers with their mean and accurate line of attack.

Elevated from the under-19 ranks in the wake of repeated batting failures in the four previous Ranji Trophy games this season, Himanshu Rana caught the eye with a mature approach against the Delhi attack when he walked in to bat after the team had been reduced to 25 for four. In many ways, he answered coach Surendra Bhaves call for a greater appetite for runs.

The Sonepat lads solid batting was the highlight of his 56-run stand for the fifth wicket with Priyank Tehlan (24, 60 balls, four fours) and small associations with the lower half as the team more than doubled its score when the ball did not swing and seam as much as it did in the opening session. He could have gone on had he not fished at a delivery outside the off-stump.

Prior, Mohit Sharmas hat-trick in the first over of the day he had centurion Virender Sehwag caught behind off a short ball by a leaping Nitin Saini, Parwinder Awana caught at mid-on by Joginder Sharma and sent Navdeep Sainis off-stump cartwheeling saw Delhi bowled out at their overnight score of 278. The seamers four for 46 was not good enough for him to draw the attention of the selectors when they picked the India squad for the World Cup.

Scores: Delhi 278 in 83.5 overs (Virender Sehwag 147, Rajat Bhatia 72, Mohit Sharma four for 46, including a hat-trick, Joginder Sharma three for 39) and seven for no wkt in 3 overs lead Haryana 188 in 66.2 overs (Himanshu Rana 80, Sumit Narwal three for 43, Navdeep Saini two for 33, Varun Sood three for 20) by 97 runs at Lahli.