NEW DELHI: Fast bowler Navdeep Saini's fiery opening spell kept Delhi's hopes of an outright victory alive, but they ultimately settled for three points against Chattisgarh in their opening group D Ranji Trophy match in Raipur on Monday.
Delhi had taken a slender first innings lead, thanks to Jonty Sidhu's second career first-class century, scoring 357 in response to Chattisgarh's 343.
Chattisgarh began the final day at 33 for no loss and reached 179 for 6 in 60 overs when captains Amandeep Khare and Himmat Singh agreed to a draw, with insufficient time remaining for a decisive result.
Delhi's performance can be considered a satisfactory start under new head coach Sarandeep Singh, especially compared to their struggles in the previous two seasons.
Saini's five-over spell (3/36 in 12 overs) on the fourth morning had rattled Chattisgarh, dismissing Aayush Pandey (33) and Eknath Kerkar (13) in quick succession. By lunch, Chattisgarh had lost five wickets with a lead of less than 100 runs.
However, skipper Khare (18 off 80 balls) and Ajay Mandal (57 not out off 94 balls) batted for 17.4 overs, adding only 38 runs for the sixth wicket but crucially consuming enough time to secure a point for their team.
After Saini trapped Khare leg before with the old ball, Delhi briefly entertained thoughts of victory, but Mandal and former Mumbai batter Bhupen Lalwani (3 not out) played out another 9.2 overs as the match meandered to a draw.
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