Ranji Round 4: Hat-trick hero Unadkat sizzles on Day 1
by crickethighlights.one Staff • Last updated on Tue, Jan 3, 2023,
Hat-trick in the first over of the game? Ask Jaydev Unadkat how that feels. The left-armer, who came back to the Ranji Trophy fold after earning his second Test cap in Bangladesh, announced his return in style and had a hat-trick before the scoring softwares around the world could even fire up properly. This is how the hat-trick panned out: Dhruv Shorey was bowled off the third ball of the innings, Vaibhav Rawal was caught before Delhi captain Yash Dhull was pinned in front. Unadkat finished with figures of 8 for 39 as Delhi were bowled out for only 144. And that they got there was thanks to Hrithik Shokeen and Shivank Vashish, who put together 80 runs for the ninth wicket.
Tushar Deshpande’s 5 for 37 at the Brabourne Stadium blew away Tamil Nadu for 144 on the opening morning but Mumbai, despite having garnered a lead, were themselves in a bit of soup at 183/6 at Stumps. Captain Ajinkya Rahane scored 42 off 43 before walking back but he will be relieved to see Sarfaraz Khan still out there on 46*.
T Ravi Teja’s 5 for 34 helped Hyderabad bowl out Andhra for only 135, with Abhishek Reddy’s 81 at the top of the order being the standout. Hyderabad finished the day at 79/3.
Top knocks
Playing at a ground named after him, Abhimanyu Easwaran celebrated the feat with an unbeaten 141 and helped Bengal finish Day 1 against Uttarakhand on 269/3. Mayank Mishra picked all the three wickets to fall.
Punit Bist hit a magnificent double hundred against Meghalaya, smacking 35 fours and a six in his quick-fire knock of 205* off 193. Kishan Lyngdoh also chipped in with 128 at the top of the order as Meghalaya finished at 424/3 against Arunachal Pradesh, who interestingly chose to bowl.
Vishnu Solanki hit a splendid 164* against Himachal Pradesh in Vadodara, helping Baroda finish Day 1 at 327/7 after opting to bat.
Harvik Desai ensured that Delhi don’t recover from the Unadkat onslaught and brought up a ton right at the top of the order. At 104 not out, he will look to add more to Saurashtra’s overnight score of 184/1.
Ashutosh Singh’s 118* and Amandeep Khare’s 93 put paid to Karnataka’s plans, the hosts opting to bowl first and conceding 267/5 to Chattisgarh on the opening day.
Manan Vohra brought up a quick century off 147 balls and found an able ally in Kunal Mahajan (103*) as Chandigarh racked up 313/2 by Stumps against Tripura.
Mohammad Saif scored 161* as Railways finished Day 1 at 322/8. It didn’t always look that comfortable, especially when the side was reduced to 14/2 and then 136/5.
Reeling at 11/3, Madhya Pradesh found a saviour in Rajat Patidar who hit 121 and helped his side finish the day at 234/6 against Vidarbha.
Nehal Wadhera’s 120* helped Punjab finish the day at 276/7 against Gujarat. Chintan Gaja finished with three wickets.
Rohan Prem’s 112* against Goa helped Kerala to a steady 247/5 at Stumps.
