Assam eyeing third win, need 95 more runs to topple Delhi

Assam need 95 more runs to register their third consecutive win after the hosts reached 70 for three in their pursuit of 165-run target set by Delhi at stumps on the third and penultimate day of their Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match, here today.
After drawing with defending champions Karnataka, Assam beat former back-to-back winners Rajasthan by an innings, and then toppled Haryana at home in Lahli and are now on the cusp of beating Delhi.
Assam still have seven wickets in hand to overwhelm Delhi's target with opener Rahul Hazarika batting on 30 in the company of AB Arun Karthik (13 not out), who made vital 81 in the hosts' first innings.

But all the credit must go to Assam bowlers, who after wrapping Delhi for 149 in the first innings, bundled out the visitors for another below-par 172 in the second essay.
Resuming at the overnight score of 101 for four, Delhi last seven wickets contributed just 71 runs with spin duo of Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad (3/49) and Amit Verma (3/42) inflicting bulk of the damage.
Paceman Krishna Das (2/32) and skipper Gokul Sharma (2/17) also chipped in with wickets to help their side's cause.

Overnight batsmen Pulkit Narang (26 not out) and Milind Kumar (20) got starts but apart from them Delhi's middle and lower order struggled against the spin duo of Syed Mohammad and Verma.

In their quest for 165 runs, Assam lost opener Pallav Kumar Das, Swarupam Purkyastha and Verma but Hazarika and Arun Karthik are holding the fort for the hosts.
Manan Sharma (1/11), Navdeep Saini (1/18) and Pradeep Sangwan (1/24) picked up a wicket each for Delhi.
Brief Scores:
Delhi: 149 & 172 all out in 83.2 overs (Unmukt Chand 44, Dhruv Shorey 38; Amit Verma 3/42, Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad 3/49).
Assam: 157 & 70 for three in 32 overs (Rahul Hazarika 30 not out; Manan Sharma 1/11).