The Rajasthan cricket team registered its first win of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season courtesy of an all-round performance against Himachal Pradesh on Sunday.
Rajasthan pulled off a comprehensive eight-wicket win over the hosts in the second-round match played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. Deepak Chahar, Aniket Choudhary, Mahipal Lomror and Yash Kothari starred for the Rajasthan side.
Batting first, opener Yash Kothari scored 84 while Mahipal Lomror registered 99 off 136 balls to power Rajasthan to 334 in their first innings. Kothari, who hit 11 fours during his knock, added 99 runs with captain Deepak Hooda to stabilise Rajasthan’s innings after losing quick wickets at the start.
Later, Mahipal Lomror played a crucial knock, adding valuable runs with the tail-enders when Rajasthan were in a spot of bother at 189/6. The southpaw first put on 82 runs with Manav Suthar for the seventh wicket before joining forces with Arafat Khan for a 48-run stand.
Lomror was unlucky to miss out on a century as he got out for 99 with the score reading 323. His knock featured 14 fours and one six. Mayank Dagar was the pick among the bowlers for Himachal Pradesh with figures of 5/85.
Deepak Chahar gave Rajasthan an excellent start and ran through Himachal Pradesh’s top order, picking up a wicket each in his second, third and fourth over before recording a double strike in his fifth.
With the home side reeling at 34/6 following Chahar’s carnage, Rajasthan were in the driver’s seat.
Chahar finished with figures of 5/30 as Himachal Pradesh folded for 98 in their first innings. Aniket Choudhary picked up three wickets while Khaleel Ahmed and Arafat Khan scalped one each.
Following on, the hosts started well with the openers adding 103 runs. However, Manav Suthar and Aniket Choudhary struck for Rajasthan as Himachal Pradesh lost their way and slid from 219/3 to 260 all out.
Left-arm spinner Suthar picked up 4/77 while Aniket Choudhary took 5/66 to end the match with a haul of eight wickets. Opener Shubham Arora and Ankit Kalsi scored half-centuries for the hosts.
Though Rajasthan lost two wickets in the first two balls of their chase, they reached the target of 25 in the sixth over. Rajasthan have nine points, six for this win and three for the first-innings lead against Puducherry in the first match, after the first two rounds of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season.
Rajasthan will meet Gujarat in their third-round match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur starting on October 26.
Rajasthan vs Himachal Pradesh Ranji Trophy brief scores: Rajasthan 334/10 (Mahipal Lomror 99, Yash Kothari 84; Mayank Dagar 5/85) and 26/2 (Salman Khan 15*; Vipin Sharma 2/8) beat Himachal Pradesh 98/10 (Rishi Dhawan 40*; Deepak Chahar 5/30, Aniket Choudhary 3/28) and 260/10 (Shubham Arora 59, Ankit Kalsi 57; Aniket Choudhary 5/66, Manav Suthar 4/77).
