Jaipur, Nov 1: The 77th edition of the Ranji Trophy couldn’t have started off in a more dramatic fashion when hosts Rajasthan bowled Hyderabad out for a record low of 21 in the latter’s first innings.
The four-day match being played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipurbegan with Rajasthan winning the toss and opting to field. 18-year old Deepak Chahar, making his debut for Rajasthan, immediately had Hyderabad in all kinds of trouble as his 7.3 overs spell yielded 8 wickets for Rajasthan. Hyderabad were bowled out for a paltry score of 21, a total that did not keep the Rajasthan team on the field beyond 15.3 overs.
Chahar’s efforts helped break the record for the lowest team total, when Southern Punjab were bowled out for 22 chasing 114 against Northern India in Amritsar, set in the first edition of the tournament in 1934-35.
In reply, Rajasthan went into lunch, already having scored more than twice of Hyderabad’s total, at 45 for 1. Aakash Chopra (15*) was joined by captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar (20*) at the fall of opener Vineet Saxena’s wicket, making Rajasthan’s second-wicket partnership of 34* an ex India players’ affair.
Brief Score (at lunch) –
Hyderabad – 1st innings 21 all out (Deepak Chahar 7.3 – 2-10-8, Pankaj Singh 8-2-11-2), Rajasthan 45-1 (Hrishikesh Kanitkar 20*, Alfred Absolem 5-1-13-1)
