Haryana registered a nail-biting four-wicket win against Gujarat on the last day of their Ranji Trophy 2025-26 Group C match at the Gujarat College Ground. While chasing a modest 62 for win on a tricky, spin-friendly surface, Haryana batters failed to get a good start as they lost both openers, Lakshay Dalal and captain Ankit Kumar, within the first four overs, leaving the score at a shaky 2 for 2.
Things went worse for Haryana as Mayank Shandilya (3) and Nishant Sindhu (13) also fell cheaply. At 43 for 6 in the 23rd over, the game was hanging by a thread. After that, wicketkeeper Yashvardhan Dalal (14*) and Parth Vats (13*) came together, showing remarkable calm under pressure. The pair added the remaining 19 runs, guiding Haryana to a tense victory and six crucial points. Yashvardhan sealed the win with two boundaries to finish the job in style.
For Gujarat, left-arm spinners Vishal Jayswal (3/23) and Siddharth Desai (2/25) did most of the damage, while India leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi picked up one wicket.
Earlier in the day, Gujarat were bowled out for 137 in their second innings after resuming at 113 for 8. The surface continued to help the spinners, with Haryana’s bowlers keeping things tight.
Off-spinner Nikhil Kashyap starred for Gujarat in Haryana’s first innings with a spell of 4 for 59 from 21.4 overs, while Shandilya, Sindhu, and Vats chipped in with two wickets each.
Haryana’s disciplined bowling effort earlier in the match had already given them a healthy 102-run first-innings lead, setting the stage for this hard-fought victory over the 2016-17 champions.
Had Gujarat managed to pull off the win, it would have gone down as the lowest total ever defended in Ranji Trophy history, but Haryana held their nerve just in time.
Brief scores:
Gujarat 163 and 137 all out in 60.4 overs (Urvil Patel 44; Nikhil Kashyap 4/59) vs Haryana 239 and 62/6 in 28 overs.