Saini, Khejroliya decimate Bengal, Delhi reach Ranji finals after 10 years

Seamers Navdeep Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya picked up four wickets apiece as Delhi thrashed Bengal by an innings and 26 runs to storm into Ranji Trophy final after a gap of 10 years.

The last time Delhi made it to the finals in 2007-08 season they won the Ranji Trophy.

The Bengal batsmen surrendered in front of relentless seam bowling by Saini and Khejroliya in their second innings, getting bowled out for a mere 86 runs on a pitch where two Delhi openers – Gautam Gambhir and Kunal Chandela scored fantastic centuries.

Both Saini and Khejroliya bowled with a lot of energy and pace to rattle the Bengal batting line-up comprising of Manoj Tiwary, Sudip Chatterjee and Abhimanyu Easwaran.

In the absence of regular captain Ishant Sharam, Saini shared the new ball with Vikas Tokas, who drew first blood by removing Bengal’s highest scorer of the season Abhishek Raman for a duck.

Left-arm seamer, Khejroliya then got the prized scalp of Easwaran, after he had got a couple of reprieves to send tremors down the Bengal batting line-up.

The telling blow was however given by Saini, who got one to shoot from round the wicket, knocking the off stump down of a well-settled Sudip Chatterjee for 21. Chatterjee (83) was Bengal’s highest scorer in the first innings.

From then on, Saini displayed some of the most impressive seam bowling of the current season, clocking at over 140 km/h regularly and moving the ball both ways on a placid track.

He then knocked over Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary before sending back Amir Gani and Boddupalli Amit of successive balls. Mohammed Shami kept out Saini’s hat-trick ball and young seamer was bereft of a well deserved five-wicket haul.

Khejroliya on the other hand used his hit-the-deck abilities to good effect and grabbed 4 for 40. He got the last man Dinda out with a well disguised slower one to close the match.

Earlier on the third day, Mohammed Shami got Bengal back into match with some brilliant display of fast blowing , grabbing six wickets for 122 runs in his 39 overs.

Resuming the day at 271 for three, Delhi were bowled out for 398 with a lead of 112 runs, which proved far too many for a sorry looking Bengal batting line-up.