Sport - Cricket

Chopra, Dhawan score centuries

— Photo: Sadeep Saxena

FINE KNOCK: Delhi’s Aakash Chopra came up with an unbeaten century against Saurashtra.

NEW DELHI: Aakash Chopra and Shikhar Dhawan produced their first century opening partnership in many matches as Delhi dominated Saurashtra on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Elite league cricket match at the Roshanara ground here on Saturday.

Chopra remained unbeaten on 124 and Dhawan hit 114 as Delhi finished with an overall lead of 326 runs.

Saurashtra, 175 for seven overnight, was all out for 213.

Delhi should declare at its overnight total on Saturday and look to score its second consecutive victory.

The pitch had eased out when Chopra and Dhawan launched their assault.

They applied themselves very well with Chopra, displaying a refreshingly attacking approach, playing some vintage strokes.

He had gained his place in the Delhi squad 10 seasons ago as a strokeplayer and he relived those moments on Saturday with a flurry of shots.

Delhi had planned to score briskly to push for a victory and the aim was to get five an over.

Chopra and Dhawan ensured the team got a flying start by attacking from the word go and Saurashtra succumbed to the pressure applied by the batsmen. “It was enjoyable,” Chopra confessed. “The track had eased out, but I was happy with the manner in which I hit the ball. It was fun really because I could pace my innings as the team wanted me to. There were a lot of positives. I could bat aggressively even though I thought it was normal batting,” he said. Chopra hit 16 fours in his 211-ball essay, while the left-handed Dhawan, showing exemplary discipline and determination, batted 139 balls and hit 17 fours and a six.

The scores: Delhi (1st innings): 244.

Saurashtra (1st innings): K. Vaghela b Sharma 3, S. Jogiyani c Chopra b Sharma 25, S. Kotak c Dhawan b Bhatia 77, C. Pujara lbw b Bhatia 11, J. Shah c Bisht b Bhatia 0, P. Mehta c Bisht b Bhandari 27, R. Jadeja c Bisht b Sangwan 1, R. Dhruv lbw b Bhatia 21, K. Makvana c Dhawan b Sharma 13, S. Jobanputra b Sharma 7, S. Maniar (not out) 2, Extras (b-11, lb-6, nb-7, w-2): 26; Total (in 92.1 overs): 213.

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-61, 3-83, 4-83, 5-156, 6-156, 7-175, 8-195, 9-204.

Delhi bowling: P. Sangwan 24-5-69-1, I. Sharma 28.1-6-72-4, A. Bhandari 14-7-22-1, R. Bhatia 17-8-16-4, C. Nanda 8-1-16-0, M. Manhas 1-0-1-0.

Delhi (2nd innings): A. Chopra (batting) 124, S. Dhawan st Jogiyani b Dhruv 114, M. Tehlan lbw b Jobanputra 9, V. Kohli (batting) 40, Extras (lb-6, nb-1, w-1): 8, Total (two wkts., in 69 overs): 295.

Fall of wickets: 1-199, 2-219.

Saurashtra bowling: Jobanputra 15-1-77-1, Maniar 12-0-64-0, Vaghela 12-2-42-0, Jadeja 15-2-51-0, Makvana 13-3-40-0, Dhruv 2-0-15-1.

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