Ranji Trophy 2024: Nitish Rana smashes his seventh FC hundred
Uttar Pradesh captain Nitish Rana hammered a brilliant century against Mumbai in the 2024 Ranji Trophy. The southpaw brought up his seventh century in First-Class cricket. His 106 off 120 deliveries was studded with 12 boundaries and five sixes. Nitish batted with intent and his counter-attack helped UP post a decent first innings total. UP were 290/6 when Nitish was dismissed. Here's more.
An impactful knock from Nitish
Nitish was out in the middle when UP were 136/4 and had lost a couple of wickets quickly after a decent start. He added 17 runs with Samarth Sigh before the latter was dismissed. Later, the 30-year-old stitched a crucial 137-run stand with Akshdeep Nath, taking UP's total close to 300-run mark in the first innings. Eventually, Nitish was outfoxed by Shams Mulani.
A look at his First-Class numbers
Playing his 47th First-Class match, the southpaw has compiled 2,693 runs at an average above 39. Apart from his seven centuries, he has also slammed 11 fifties. Notably, this was his first Ranji Trophy century for UP since joining the team last year. He was struggling to get going this season with scores of 11, 47* and 22 before hammering a well-paced century.
Nitish left Delhi to join Uttar Pradesh last year
Nitish was associated with Delhi Cricket for more than a decade as he made his List A debut in 2013. Later, he represented and even captained Delhi across multiple formats. He also made his FC debut for Delhi in 2015. However, he decided to switch allegiances and joined UP as their new captain last year in August. He aims to win titles with UP.
How has the match proceeded?
UP were brilliant with the ball on Day 1 as they wrapped up Mumbai for 198 runs. Mulani (57) was the only batter who touched the 50-run mark as the UP bowlers ran riot. Ankit Rajpoot and Aaqib Khan claimed three wickets each while Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned with 2/57. In reply, UP were 318/7 courtesy of Nitish's century and Samarth's fifty (63).
