Ravindra Jadeja shines with a 12-wicket haul as Saurashtra defeats Delhi

Jadeja’s 12-wicket haul guided Saurashtra to a dominant 10-wicket win over Delhi, but key Indian players like Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant faltered in the Ranji Trophy

Mumbai: Ravindra Jadeja turned out to be the only Indian superstar to live up to expectations, returning with a 12-wicket haul for Saurashtra even as the likes of Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant once again failed to score big for their respective teams in the Ranji Trophy on Friday.

Jadeja, who claimed 5/66 in the first innings, returned with 7/38 figures in the second essay at Rajkot’s Niranjan Shah Stadium as Saurashtra trounced Delhi by 10 wickets to win with a bonus point in their Elite Group D match on Friday.

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The contest had also marked the return of India wicketkeeper-batter Pant, who endured twin failures scoring 1 and 17 in two outings.

While Jadeja ruled the roost in his backyard on expected lines, his performance was the only positive output from the national team’s perspective as the much-anticipated return of Rohit for defending champions Mumbai turned out to be another disappointing affair.

Dismissed for a wobbly 19-ball 3 on the opening day, Rohit appeared to be hitting his strides when he hit three attractive sixes and put on a 54-run stand for the first wicket with his Test opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Despite looking good in patches, Rohit failed to convert the start and perished for 28 off 35 balls with two fours and three sixes, which was his highest first-class score since 52 in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand last October.

Rohit’s innings was marked with flashes of brilliance as well as misses but some of the strokes he played — twice he lifted Jammu and Kashmir pacers over their head for sixes — showed the promise of the Indian Test and ODI captain rediscovering his long lost form.

Jaiswal, who was the only Indian batter to get considerable runs against New Zealand and Australia, also endured a forgettable return to Ranji Trophy as he fell for 4 and 26.
After being surprised with one that skidded in to trap him leg-before on a fresh wicket, Jaiswal chose to keep taking strides towards the pitch of the ball to negate movement off the surface, while showing more intent to get runs. While he did hit a few attractive strokes, Jaiswal could not impose himself on the opposition bowlers.