Dhruv takes 14 wickets as Gujarat earn 6 pts against Rajasthan

Ahmedabad: Left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhruv picked up his first ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket as Gujarat posted an impressive eight-wicket win over Rajasthan in their Group A Ranji Trophy match here on Tuesday.

Dhruv finished with a match figure of 14 for 96, eight of them coming in the second innings at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera. Chasing a target of 102 runs, Gujarat needed a little over 25 overs and lost two wickets in the process to post their first win of the season and jump to 15 points after drawing five games in a row. Rajasthan remained at the bottom of the points table with five points, hardly the performance expected of the two-time defending champions. Dhruv spun a web around the Rajasthan batsmen at the spinning Motera strip to knock the daylight out of the visitors. Resuming the final day at 29 for two, Rajasthan kept on losing wickets at regular intervals with only five batsmen reaching the double figures. Robin Bist (31) and skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar (23) were the only two who waged a grim battle as the visitors folded for 119 in their second essay after having conceded an 18-run lead in their first innings. Rajasthan batsmen were flummoxed by the flight and guile of Dhruv as they somehow managed to reach the three-digit mark. Gujarat, while chasing the target, never looked in trouble with opener Smit Patel scoring a 65-ball 47 laced with eight fours. Brief scores: Rajasthan 294 & 119 in 62.2 overs (Robin Bist 31, Hrishikesh Kanitkar 23; Rakesh Dhruv 8/31). Gujarat 312 & 105/2 in 25.2 overs (Smit Patel 47; Aniket Choudhary 1/16). Points: Gujarat 6, Rajasthan 0. PTI