Himmat's 99 and united batting effort helps Delhi post 336/5

Young batsman Himmat Singh missed out on his maiden first class hundred after being run out on 99 but strong batting throughout helped Delhi reach a strong 336 for five against Hyderabad on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group A match, here today.
The 21-year-old Himmat, playing only his second first class game, provided solidity to the Delhi innings with his his brilliant batting at number four but was run out going for the milestone.
His 99 came off 151 balls and he hit 15 shots to the fence during his three hour and 27 minute stay at the crease.

Also scoring half-centuries were openers Kunal Chandela (64) and Lalit Yadav, who was unbeaten on 62 at stumps on day one of the contest.
Gautam Gambhir scored a quick-fire 33 with seven boundaries before being caught and bowled by left-arm spinner Mehdi Hasan, who also trapped Chandela later in the innings.
Talented Rishabh Pant had a disappointing outing as he managed only 16 runs when the stage was set to dominate the home bowlers.

Dharam Shorey (32) also got a start but could not convert it into a big knock. He was cleaned up by off-spinner P Sairam.
At stumps, Manan Sharma (16) was giving compnay to Yadav.

In other Group A matches:
In Pune, Maharashtra were 65 for three after bundling Assam for 279 in 66.2 overs . (S Roy 80, G Sharma 87; N Dhuman 5/94).
In Delhi, Karnataka were 355 for six in 89.2 overs. (Mayank Agarwal 173, Manish Pandey 108; M Rao 2/65).