Chahar bowls out Hyderabad for 21 in sensational debut

JAIPUR - Rajasthan’s debutant medium-pacer Deepak Chahar bowled a sensational spell to dismiss Hyderabad for just 21 runs, setting a record for the lowest team total in Ranji Trophy.

In fact, it was a 75-year old record that was broken Monday. In the first Ranji Trophy season in 1934-35 Southern Punjab were bowled out for 22 chasing 114 against Northern India, which was the lowest total so far.

Hyderabad also equalled the record for the lowest total in India’s first-class cricket. In 1915-16, the Europeans bundled the Mohammedans out for 21 in the Bombay Quadrangular.

Eighteen-year-old Chahar’s figures were 7.3-2-10-8. He fell just short of the record effort on debut which is in the name of Maharashtra’s Vasant Ranjane, who took nine for 56 against Saurashtra in 1956-57.

Rajasthan skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar elected to field in the plate division match where Chahar made the dream debut.

Hyderabad’s innings lasted only 15.3 overs and 78 minutes.

Chahar got his maiden wicket when he had Akshath Reddy caught behind. Reddy scored six runs with the help of one boundary and he remained Hyderabad’s highest individual scorer.

Wickets fell like nine pins as Chahar and Pankaj Singh (2-11) scythed through the top order, reducing Hyderabad to five for 12. Chahar then ran through the middle and lower order in no time. Three of the batsmen were out for ducks.

Chahar was also on a hat-trick when he removed Munagala Praneet Arjun and Alfred Absolem with the last ball of his seventh over and the first of his eighth. But the last man Pagadala Naidu, played out one ball before giving his wicket in the next.