Ayush Badoni's second successive hundred carries Delhi past 400 in Ranchi

Ayush Badoni has followed a career-best double hundred with a second successive century, and Delhi's captain was still unbeaten on the second day in Ranchi

Badoni closed the opening day of Delhi's Ranji Trophy match against Jharkhand unbeaten on 106 from 122 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes, and he was still there on the second day as his side moved to 446 for 5 from 121 overs at the JSCA International Stadium Complex.

Delhi had closed day one on 309 for 5 from 90 overs, so Badoni and Sumit Mathur have added another 137 runs on the second morning without being separated.

The stand matters because of where it began. Delhi, who chose to bat, had slipped to 181 for 5 before the pair came together, and the sixth-wicket partnership was worth 128 by the close of the first day.

A rescue from 181 for 5

Delhi's top order found the surface comfortable enough without turning starts into substantial scores. Priyansh Arya made 39, Sanat Sangwan 37 and Yash Dhull 29 from No. 3.

Three of the top five passed 25 and none reached 40, and the fifth wicket fell with the total on 181.

That left Badoni walking in at No. 5 needing to anchor rather than accelerate, and he batted through the rest of the day.

Mathur was unbeaten on 50 at stumps, a supporting innings that has since become the longer half of a partnership Jharkhand cannot break.

Mathur survives a long-on reprieve

On 36, Mathur was caught at long-on. The decision was recalled because Anukul Roy had overstepped, and the Delhi batter went on to reach his half-century.

Jharkhand have not taken a wicket since Badoni and Mathur came together, which is now more than 260 runs ago.

Delhi's scoring on the second morning has been brisk by the standards of the first day, 137 runs arriving in 31 overs after the opening day produced 309 in 90.

A second hundred in successive innings

Badoni's last three first-class innings now read 85, 217 and 106 not out. The 217, against Gujarat, is his career best.

He shared a 234-run stand with Priyansh Arya in that innings, Arya falling one short of a double century on 199.

The 26-year-old also opened Delhi's season with the ball, taking 5 for 43 against Bengal before making 85 in the second innings.

That all-round contribution is a reminder that the bowling remains part of what he offers, and not an afterthought to the batting.

A ground that has given him runs before

Ranchi is familiar territory. Badoni made an unbeaten 205 against Jharkhand at the same venue in November 2024.

He added an unbeaten 204 for East Zone in the 2025 Duleep Trophy, which gives him three scores beyond 200 in first-class cricket.

Both of those unbeaten double hundreds were made within the past two seasons.

A case made in domestic cricket

Badoni has 2216 runs from 26 first-class matches at an average of 58.31.

He earned a first senior India call-up in January 2026 and has been a regular in the India A side since.

With Delhi's innings still unfinished in Ranchi, a run of scores of this weight arrives at a useful moment in the domestic season.

Scorecard: Delhi 446 for 5 from 121 overs on the second day, having closed day one on 309 for 5 (Ayush Badoni 106 not out, Sumit Mathur 50 not out), against Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi.

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