Ranji Trophy: Yash Dhull's ton helps Delhi end Day 1 on 291/7 against TN

Yash Dhull had showcased his white-ball skills during India’s triumphant U-19 World Cup campaign at the Caribbean earlier this month. The 19-year-old Delhi opener showed he has the game for the longer format as well scoring a fine 150-ball 113 (18x4) on his Ranji Trophy debut against Tamil Nadu in Guwahati on Thursday. Yash and Jonty Sidhu's (71, 8x4, 2x6) efforts helped Delhi finish at 291-7 on Day 1 of their clash against Tamil Nadu in Guwahati.

Medium-pacer Sandeep Warrier's twin strikes in the 3rd over of the day reduced Delhi to 7 for 2. A tough start for Delhi notwithstanding, Yash looked undeterred at the other end. He never went into a shell and was happy to play his shots each time the Tamil Nadu bowlers erred. Yash got Delhi's innings on track with a quick-fire 60-run third-wicket partnership along with Nitish Rana (25, 2x4, 1x6). Once Rana departed, Yash had the company of Jonty Sidhu as the two raised 119 runs for the fourth wicket.

Yash took a special liking for Tamil Nadu pacers --- Warrier, Saravana Kumar and M Mohammed. Out of his 113 runs, 76 came off the trio. Yash peppered all parts of the ground with his smooth stroke-play as Tamil Nadu bowlers looked clueless. The only blemish in the youngster's innings came when --- on 97 --- he was caught by M Shahrukh Khan at short mid-wicket region off a no-ball from Mohammed. Yash soon completed his maiden century in 133 deliveries and joined the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Prithvi Shaw among others who have scored hundreds on their Ranji debut. Interestingly, four of India's last five U-19 skippers hit a century on their FC debut. Vijay Zol hit 110 against New Zealand A in 2013. Four seasons later, Shaw scored 120 against Tamil Nadu. In 2018,