Ravindra Jadeja ran through the Delhi batting lineup and picked up 12 wickets on his return to Ranji Trophy for Saurashtra.
The Indian all-rounder recorded his 10th 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket after grabbing five scalps in the first innings followed by seven in the second at the Niranjan Shah Stadium Ground C in Rajkot. He also scored 38 runs at a strike rate of over 100 with the bat for Saurashtra.
Led by Ayush Badoni, Delhi opted to bat first in the fifth round of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25. Jadeja took little time to make an impression and dismissed opener Sanat Sangwan in the ninth over. There was no looking back for the 36-year-old as he got rid of four other batters, including captain Badoni and former India U19 captain Yash Dhull to restrict Delhi to a paltry score of 188.
Saurashtra, led by half-centuries from Harvik Desai and Arpit Vasavada, put up 271 runs on the board. Desai missed his century by just seven runs while Jadeja added 38 runs off just 36 balls. Indian Test veteran Cheteshwar Pujara, however, failed to make a mark and got out after scoring just six runs.
Trailing by 83 runs, Delhi batters narrowly managed to avoid an innings defeat. Besides Badoni, who made 44 runs, nobody else could play a big hand as Jadeja ran riot once again. This time, the left-armer also got rid of his international teammate Rishabh Pant who scored 17 off 26 deliveries after getting out cheaply in the first innings as well. Jadeja dismissed both openers Arpit Rana and Sanat Sangwan while also getting the better of Badoni once again. He ran through the middle order as Delhi got bowled out for just 94 runs, leaving Saurashtra with a target of just 11 on Day 3 to win the match.
Bowling 12.5 overs in the third innings, Jadeja scalped seven wickets for just 38 runs. His best bowling figures in an innings of a first-class match are 7/31. It was an excellent return to form with the ball for the veteran Indian international who could only pick up four wickets in three matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25 against Australia recently.
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