Delhi v/s Vidarbha: Rajneesh Gurbani becomes 2nd bowler to take hat-trick in Ranji final
Vidarbha's Gurbani finished with figures of 6 wickets for 59 runs as Delhi’s were restricted for 295 in their first innings.
Rajneesh Gurbani, hero of Vidarbha's victory against Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy semifinal, proved his worth again for his side on Saturday. The pacer took a hat-trick against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy final.
Gurbani clean bowled Vikas Mishra and Navdeep Saini in his 23rd over off the last two deliveries. Returning to bowl for his 24th over, he rattled Dhruv Shorey’s stumps in the first ball to take his maiden first-class cricket hat-trick.
Gurbani became only the second bowler to take a hat-trick in Ranji Trophy Final after B Kalyanasundaram for Tamil Nadu against Bombay in 1972/73 in Chennai.
Three balls after completing his hat-trick, Gurbani bowled Kulwant Khejroliya to end Delhi’s innings for 295. Gurbani who had dismissed Rishabh Pant and Himmat Singh on the first day finished with figures of 6 wickets for 59 runs..
Gurbani had suffered an ankle injury on Friday, which made him leave the field in the middle of the over for 30 minutes. However, he seemed to have recovered on Saturday.
In the semifinal, Gurbani had taken a total of 12 wickets, including seven in the second innings to enforce the win against Karnataka.