Ranji Trophy 2018, Final: Dhruv Shorey smashes ton to keep Delhi afloat on Day One

At the stumps on day one of the Ranji Trophy 2017-18 grand finale, Rishabh Pant-led Delhi managed to post 271 for six on board in 88 overs at Holkar Stadium in Indore after riding on the brilliant century of the top-order batsman Dhruv Shorey.

The 25-year-old right-handed batsman Shorey remained unbeaten on 123 off 256 deliveries which saw him smashing 17 boundaries to score at the strike-rate of 48.05.

On the other side, Vikas Mishra was batting on five after consuming 37 deliveries.

For Faiz Fazal-led Vidarbha, Rajneesh Gurbani and Aditya Thakare picked two wickets each, as Siddesh Neral and Akshay Wakhare claimed wicket apiece.

At one stage, Delhi was reeling at 99 for four in 38.1 overs, but Shorey was on the rescue mission alongside Himmat Singh as both forged the partnership of 105 for the fifth wicket.

The 21-year-old right-handed batsman Himmat was looking solid as a rock which saw him smashing eight boundaries and two maximums in his 72-ball 66-run knock.

Wadkar caught Rishabh Pant on the bowling of brilliant performer Gurbani.

Himmat was dismissed by Gurbani when Wadkar completed a simple catch, as Manan Sharma was sent back to the hut by medium pacer Neral when Fazal caught him.

Earlier, Vidarbha leader Fazal decided to bowl first which somewhat proved to be a fruitful exercise, as Delhi lost their promising opening batsman Kunal Chandela on the fourth delivery of their very first innings when he edged the ball straight into the hands of Fazal on the bowling of Thakare.

Chandela was dismissed for nought, before his opening partner and left-handed batsman Gautam Gambhir was bowled on a beauty by Wakhare.

The senior campaigner in Delhi side in the form of Gambhir managed to score 38-ball 15, as he perished at the team score of 30 in 12.5 overs.

Adding crucial 35 runs for the third-wicket, Nitish Rana was trapped in front of the stumps by Thakare when he was batting on 21 off 44 balls.

The 24-year-old left-handed batsman Rana smashed two boundaries and a solitary six before trudging off the ground.

Fazal used as many as seven bowlers in which seven extras were conceded following the highly impressive show until the semi-final clash.

While summing up the day, the probing spells saw Delhi’s batsman giving a hard-fight to score runs, as Shorey had spent quality time at the crease to rotate the strike when Delhi kept on losing the wickets.

During the match, Vidarbha received a massive blow when Ganesh Satish was hit by a ball on the nose at the mid-wicket boundary before Gurbani limped off while complaining about the ankle issue.