Ranji Trophy: Delhi held to draw by Gujarat after securing first-innings lead

Delhi and Gujarat finished level in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group-C match at the Palam ‘B’ ground on October 21, 2026, with Delhi settling for a first-innings lead after declaring on 648 for six and bowling Gujarat out for 479.

A placid pitch produced a high-scoring encounter that ultimately ended as a draw, denying the hosts an outright victory despite winning the toss and compiling a large first innings total. Delhi spent 174.1 overs fielding to dismiss Gujarat, securing a first-innings advantage of 169 runs but unable to force a result. The hosts enforced the follow-on and reduced Gujarat to 15 for one in eight overs at the scheduled tea break before both sides agreed to end the contest.

Off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen shouldered a heavy workload and delivered his first five-wicket haul in First Class cricket, finishing with five for 143 in Gujarat’s first innings after bowling 53 overs there and a further four in the second. Shokeen’s first-innings economy was 2.7, and he also removed overnight batter Manan Hingrajia early in the day to bring Gujarat to 385 for six inside the opening hour. His figures and workload were central to Delhi’s ability to secure the first-innings lead.

Gujarat’s top order produced significant contributions, with Manan Hingrajia making 123 and Jaymeet Patel scoring 72. Chintan Gaja, the Gujarat skipper, reached 82 after having made 41 on day three and helped prolong the innings with useful lower-order runs. Other notable contributions included Abhishek Desai 34, Vedant Trivedi 38 and Urvil Patel 23.

Gujarat — 1st innings: Abhishek Desai c Doseja b Shokeen 34, Aarya Desai c Dhull b Shokeen 11, Vedant Trivedi c Rawat b Divij 38, Manan Hingrajia c Mathur b Shokeen 123, Urvil Patel c Badoni b Shokeen 23, Jaymeet Patel c Sanat b Saini 72, Chintan Gaja c & b Mathur 82, Vishal Jayswal c & b Mathur 21, Harshal Patel c Rawat b Shokeen 5, Arzan Nagwaswalla (not out) 10, Siddharth Desai b Grewal 6; Extras (b-34, lb-11, w-6, nb-3): 54; Total (in 174.1 overs): 479. Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-79, 3-118, 4-153, 5-277, 6-385, 7-443, 8-444, 9-450. Delhi bowling: Divij 18-4-45-1, Saini 23-5-50-1, Shokeen 53-11-143-5, Grewal 19.1-3-53-1, Badoni 19-3-57-0, Mathur 25-6-51-2, Priyansh 12-2-23-0, Doseja 5-0-12-0.

Delhi enforced the follow-on and Gujarat reached 15 for one in eight overs at the scheduled tea break, at which point both teams agreed to conclude play and exchanged handshakes. Gujarat — 2nd innings: Abhishek Desai (not out) 9, Aarya Desai lbw b Divij 2, Vedant Trivedi (not out) 0; Extras (b-4): 4; Total (for one wkt. in eight overs): 15. Delhi bowling in the second dig: Shokeen 4-2-6-0, Divij 4-2-5-1.

By taking the first-innings lead, Delhi earned three points from the fixture while the match was officially recorded as a draw.