Ranji Trophy: Deepak Chahar picks his first five-wicket haul in 5 years

Playing just his fourth first-class game in three years, Deepak Chahar picked up his first five-wicket haul in red-ball cricket since 2019 on Day 2 of the clash against Himachal Pradesh in Dharamshala on October 19 (Saturday).

Chahar, who made no appearances for Rajasthan in the 2023/24 Ranji season and just a solitary appearance in the 2022/23 season, began his 2024/24 Ranji campaign with a match haul of 3/79 against Puducherry in Jaipur last week. 

He entered the clash against Himachal Pradesh with little red-ball practice but turned back the clock to bowl one of the best new-ball spells of the season, removing five of HP’s top six batters inside the first 10 overs.

It was Khaleel Ahmed who started the collapse by removing opener Shubham Arora, after which Chahar took charge. Prashant Chopra (171), Ankit Kalsi (205*) & Ekanta Sen (101) all entered the Rajasthan clash, having smashed tons last week, but Chahar removed all three in-form batters in the space of three overs. 

While Chopra was trapped LBW, both Kalsi and Sen were bowled. The No.5 batter, Abhinandan Bhardwaj, also saw his timber get rattled, while Mukul Negi became Chahar’s fifth victim of the day. At lunch on Day 2, Chahar’s figures read 10-3-30-5 as HP were reduced to 62/7. 

The 32-year-old’s last five-fer in red-ball cricket came back on January 7, 2019, against Tripura in Agartala.  

If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here