RANJI TROPHY | Jadeja thrives on home turf, puts Saurashtra ahead against Delhi

Ravindra Jadeja shines with both bat and ball as Saurashtra dominates Delhi in Ranji Trophy match.

All that Ravindra Jadeja needs to do to take wickets on a spin-friendly surface in Rajkot is to turn up. Or so it seems, as the left-arm spinner basked in the glow of another five-wicket haul on familiar turf on day one of an engrossing Ranji Trophy contest against Delhi at Ground C of the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Thursday.

On a track tailor-made for the seasoned spinner, as Saurashtra chases outright wins in its last two matches in Group D, the 36-year-old claimed five for 66 and led his team off the field with ball in hand after skittling out Delhi for 188 in the afternoon session. Rishabh Pant’s impact, on the other hand, was limited for the visitor — he was out for one.

At the close, the host reached 163 for five, thanks to Jadeja also stepping up with the bat with a quick-fire 38 off 36 deliveries. Opener Harvik Desai, too, made a stellar contribution of 93 in 120 balls, though he was left lamenting his dismissal by part-timer Arpit Rana off what was the final ball of the day’s play.

He was fortunate, however, that the dice had rolled to his liking early in his innings. In the 11th over, he had been cleaned up by Sumit Mathur on 26 and swiftly returned to the confines of the dressing room, only to be called back because the left-arm spinner had overstepped.

Desai capitalised on the reprieve, stitching together a counterattacking 76-run partnership with Jadeja off only 71 balls. When Jadeja went after Mathur and Harsh Tyagi with sixes towards long-on and deep midwicket, the mind harked back to what Pant could have done had he stayed at the crease for any length of time.

Having strode in when Delhi was 85 for three, he lasted all of 10 balls. It was Dharmendrasinh Jadeja who bagged the prized scalp as Pant’s off-balance sweep was snaffled by Prerak Mankad at deep square leg.

For Delhi, skipper Ayush Badoni and Yash Dhull looked most at ease in the middle. Badoni raced to 60 by virtue of his attacking instincts, while Dhull was quick to read length and go forward or back in his knock of 44.