Pant slams rapid ton in Delhi's draw
A round-up of the latest round of Group B Ranji Trophy matches, in which Rishabh Pant made one of the fastest hundreds in Ranji history and Arup Das bowled Assam to victory
ESPNcricinfo staff
08-Nov-2016
Arup Das finished with career-best figures of 12 for 70 • PTI
Rishabh Pant smacked one of the fastest centuries in Ranji Trophy history, off 48 balls, to clinch his second hundred in the match as Delhi saw out a draw against Jharkhand in Thumba. The 19-year old batsman, has averaged 81.87 with a strike rate of 96.75 since making his first-class debut in October 2015.
Pant, who scored a 106-ball 117 in the first innings, followed it up with a 67-ball 135 to secure a point for Delhi after they were asked to follow on. Overnight batsmen Dhruv Shorey and Nitish Rana put together an 82-run stand for the second wicket, before the latter was dismissed one short of a half-century by Shahbaz Nadeem. Thirteen runs later, Nadeem got Shorey out on 91, before Pant's blitz of 13 sixes and eight fours ended any chance of a Jharkhand victory. Milind Kumar (65) and Manan Sharma (53*) chipped in with half-centuries as Delhi finished on 480 for 6 at stumps. Jharkhand collected three points on account of their first-innings lead.
Assam beat Saurashtra by nine wickets to record their first win this season in Kolkata. Arup Das returned with another five-wicket haul to finish with match figures of 12 for 70, his best in first-class cricket.
Saurashtra were skittled for 81 in their second innings, with only three batsmen reaching double figures. There were five ducks overall. The new ball pair of Arup and Krishna Das shared nine wickets between them to trigger a massive collapse that resulted in Saurashtra losing seven wickets for just 30 runs. Needing 66 to win, Assam missed an opportunity to claim a bonus point when Rahul Hazarika was dismissed for 8. Rishav Das, who made a 41-ball 30, and Sibsankar Royl secured the six points for an outright win.
Centuries from Ranjit Singh, Subhranshu Senapati and debutant Abhishek Yadav helped Odisha to a draw against Rajasthan in Patiala after being asked to follow on.
Ranjit and Senapati put together a 233-run partnership for the third wicket as both batsmen reached centuries before lunch, before both were dismissed in the space of four runs as Odisha slipped from 318 for 2 to 334 for 5. Yadav then struck a 157-ball 115 supported by Saurabh Rawat as they ended on 508 for 6 at stumps. Rajasthan used ten bowlers in the innings, as they settled for three points due to their first-innings lead. Odisha received a solitary point.