Ranji Trophy: Himanshu Rana delivers on promise as talent meets temperament

Once asked to name Ranji players with a spark, one of the names tweeted by Virender Sehwag was Himanshu Rana’s. That was back in 2015. Rana was 16 but had already left an impression on Sehwag when the former India opener played for Haryana in his last domestic season.

In Sehwag’s first match for Haryana, Rana scored his maiden first-class century. The duo was involved in a rollicking 124-run stand for the fourth wicket against Maharashtra in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season. Before jelling as partners, the two had squared up in Rana’s first-class debut against Sehwag’s Delhi.

“We had an excellent partnership. Batting with your childhood hero is a dream, I was living it. We hardly had any conversation during that partnership, I was just awestruck,” Rana told Indian Express.

Since then, Rana has won the Under-19 World Cup in 2018. He was also the captain of the India Under-19 side before the baton was passed to Prithvi Shaw. However, the string of low scores cost him his India Under-19 captaincy, he got to play only two matches at the 2018 World Cup, but he has been a regular feature for the Haryana Ranji team.

“I have learned from my failures. It has been a topsy-turvy journey, but everyone has shown patience with me, for which I am grateful,” he said. “Responsibility has brought the best out of me. I had a good outing in the white-ball tournaments, and I am happy to carry that momentum in the red ball,” said Rana, who hails from Sonipat district in Haryana.

Rana slammed 16 fours en route to his unbeaten 113 from 177 balls on Friday, while Yashu Sharma, who scored his maiden first-class century against Tripura in the last match, gave support with an unbeaten 69. Haryana had a poor start and was reduced 4/2 after losing Subham Rohilla (4) and Mayank Shandilya (0). The skipper started to rebuild their innings. He was involved in a 61-run stand with Shivam Chauhan before Siddharth Kaul (2/49) cleaned him up. Bit next in, Yashi Sharma, along with Rana, resisted the collapse, and the duo saw through the day, putting up an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 139 runs. Haryana was trailing Punjab by 240 runs at the end of the play on Day 2.

“Yashu and I enjoyed ourselves today, but the job is not done yet. We are still trailing by a huge margin. But, tomorrow is a new day, and we will look to build on this,” Rana said.

Earlier, resuming the day at 368 for 5, Punjab lost their remaining wickets for 76 runs in 23 overs. Off-spinner Aman Kumar (4/88), playing his second first-class game, ran through Punjab’s lower order. Punjab senior batter Mandeep Singh was stranded on an unbeaten 159 as wickets kept falling around him. It was Mandeep’s 14th first-class century.

Brief Scores

Punjab 1st innings 444 all out in 111 overs (Mandeep Singh 159 not out, Anmol Malhotra 100; Aman Kumar 4/88, Ajit Chahal 3/74)

Haryana 1st innings: 204 for 3 in 57 overs (Himanshu Rana 113 batting, Yashu Sharma 69 batting; Siddharth Kaul 2/49)

Kunnmmal century sets platform for Kerala

Thanks to Rohan Kunnummal’s counter-attacking century (129 off 171 balls; 16×4, 4×6), his second in as many games, Kerala have motored along to 277/4 in 69 overs in their first innings at stumps on Day 2, just 114 behind Gujarat. Earlier in the day, Het Patel’s 185 propelled Gujarat to 388. For Kerala, MD Nidheesh took his fourth career fifer (5/54) while Basil Thampi finished with 4/118.

Feisty Jonty keeps Delhi in the hunt

Jonty Sidhu’s gritty 78 not out off 176 balls gave Delhi a fighting chance against Jharkhand on the second day of the Group H fixture. Delhi reduced to 223 for 8 are still 28 runs behind Jharkhand’s 251.

Hyderabad-Bengal in balance

Skipper Ravi Teja and tailender Tanay Thyagarajan struck fighting half-centuries as Hyderabad fought to stay afloat in their group B match against Bengal. Teja, who claimed 3/48 in Bengal’s 242 all out on day one, steadied Hyderabad after they were 70 for 7. He stitched a 109-run eighth-wicket partnership with Thyagarajan.

Ganesh Satish’s 275 propels Vidarbha

Ganesh Satish’s highest individual knock of 275 put Vidarbha in a commanding position on the second day of their Group G against Maharashtra. Vidarbha posted a mammoth 569 for 5 declared in their first innings. Satish and Akshay Wadkar (145 not out off 283 balls) added a staggering 288 runs for the fourth wicket.

Prasidh Krishna shines for Karnataka

Prasidh Krishna wreaked havoc with a six-wicket haul against Jammu and Kashmir and helped Karnataka to seize control. Krishna (6/35), fresh from his stint with the Indian ODI team, blew away Jammu and Kashmir batting line-up, bundling the opposition out for 93 runs in 29.5 overs. Earlier, at the overnight score of 268 for 8, Karun Nair (174) helped Karanataka post 302 in their first innings.