Ranji Trophy 2024: Hitesh Walunj shines with 6/93 against Saurashtra
Hitesh Walunj was the pick of the bowlers for Maharashtra on Day 1 against Saurashtra in the 2024 Ranji Trophy. The left-arm spinner has been on fire since making his debut earlier in the tournament. Walunj claimed his third fifer in FC cricket. He ran through the Saurashtra batting order, claiming 6/93. His heroics helped Maharashtra bundle out Saurashtra for 202 runs.
A sensational spell from Walunj
Along with Pradeep Dadhe, Walunj took the new ball for Maharashtra and the plan worked as he dismissed Kevin Jivrajani early on. An over later, he removed Vishwaraj Jadeja for a duck before trapping the in-form Cheteshwar Pujara right in front of the wickets. He later returned to the attack to dismiss the likes of Harvik Desai and Jaydev Unadkat.
Walunj had a brilliant FC debut
Walunj made his First-Class debut against Manipur earlier this year. He made the most of this opportunity by returning with 5/33 and 3/31 in respective innings on debut. He followed his debut fifer with a 6/91 in the second match against Jharkhand. The 30-year-old spinner continued his fine form with 4/80 versus Rajasthan and 3/40 against Harayan (both first innings).
Second-highest wicket-taker in the ongoing Ranji Trophy
It has been a dream debut season for Walunj as he is currently the second-highest wicket-taker in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. The Maharashtra bowler has claimed 28 wickets from five matches, claiming three fifers. He is only behind Puducherry's Gourav Yadav, who owns 33 wickets.
How has the match proceeded?
Batting first, Saurashtra lost Jivrajani and Vishwaraj in quick succession and eventually, they were tottering for 54/5 before Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Prerak Mankad added 118 runs together. Both batters slammed fifties but failed to convert them into big scores. Saurashtra suffered another collapse and could only compile 202 runs in the first innings. Walunj starred for Maharashtra with 6/93 while Taranjit Dhillon claimed 4/54.
A look at his First-Class numbers
Playing his fifth First-Class encounter, the left-arm spinner has raced to 28 wickets at an excellent average below 18. As mentioned, he has claimed three fifers in this format against teams like Manipur, Jharkhand and Saurashtra. His solitary fourfer came versus Rajasthan.
