Bengal began their Ranji Trophy Group C campaign with a nine-wicket win over Delhi after bowling out the visitors for 277 in their second innings and chasing a target of 89 on the fourth and final day on Wednesday.Delhi resumed the day at 101 for three but were dismissed for 277 in 106.2 overs. Captain Ayush Badoni led the batting with 85 off 134 balls, hitting 10 fours, while wicketkeeper-batter Anuj Rawat scored 39 off 76 deliveries.Bengal had taken a first-innings lead after scoring 429 in reply to Delhi’s 240. They needed only 15.3 overs to complete the chase, reaching 89 for one and securing the victory.Delhi had lost three wickets for 59 before Badoni and Rawat joined forces to steady the innings. Rawat was dismissed for 39 by Aamir Gani, while Yash Dhull made 22 before falling to Sumanta Gupta.Badoni continued to hold the innings together, but his dismissal for 85, caught by Abhimanyu Easwaran off Pradipta Pramanik, left Delhi at 213 for six. Dev Lakra (13) and Hrithik Shokeen (8) fell soon after, while Divij Mehra scored 21 off 28 balls to help Delhi move closer to the 277-run mark. Navdeep Saini remained unbeaten on 20.Pramanik was Bengal’s leading wicket-taker with three wickets, while Gani and Gupta took two each. Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar claimed one wicket apiece.In the chase, Ankur Paul scored 38 off 41 balls, including two fours and a six, before losing his wicket. Captain Easwaran remained unbeaten on 34 off 40 balls, while Sudip Gharami, who had scored a century in the first innings, finished on 16 not out off 12 deliveries as Bengal reached the target without further trouble.Desai’s fifer guides Gujarat to 10-wicket win over OdishaIn Ahmedabad, left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai took five wickets to help Gujarat beat Odisha by 10 wickets in their Group C match. The win also earned Gujarat a bonus point as they began their campaign under new-season coach Monty Desai.Odisha resumed the day at 119 for four but were bowled out for 161 in 46.1 overs, with Siddharth Desai taking 5/36. Gujarat needed just 47 runs to win and completed the chase without losing a wicket in 9.3 overs.Sandeep Pattnaik top-scored for Odisha with 65, while Ninad Rathva made 53. Odisha lost seven wickets in their second innings as Desai led the collapse to claim his 16th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.Left-arm pacer Arzan Nagwaswalla also played a key role for Gujarat, finishing with six wickets in the match, including 3/33 in the second innings.The Group C match between Jharkhand and Kerala in Jamshedpur ended in a draw, with the hosts earning three points after taking a first-innings lead. Jharkhand all-rounder Utkarsh Singh was named Player of the Match after scoring 71 runs and taking five wickets.In another Group C match, Maharashtra beat Services by 127 runs in Delhi.
