Dhawan's ton scripts big win for Delhi

Skipper Shikhar Dhawan smashed an unbeaten 116 as Delhi thrashed Maharashtra by seven wickets in a Group B Ranji Trophy match to stay in contention for a knock-out berth.

Dhawan anchored the innings to perfection as his unbeaten century helped the hosts chase down a challenging target of 270.

He got fantastic support from Mohit Sharma (51) and Mithun Manhas, who smashed his way to a 40-ball-51, with the help of five fours and three sixes.

En route to his 16th first-class century, Dhawan faced 194 balls and hit 12 boundaries and a six.

The Dhawan-Manhas combination added 83 runs in only 83 balls in the post-lunch session which turned out to be decisive.

Delhi now have 17 points from seven games and still have a fair chance of qualifying if they beat Vidarbha in their final league game in Nagpur.

It was one of the rare occasions this season when Delhi's batsmen, save Unmukt Chand, fired collectively.

Unmukt was again guilty of playing a rank bad shot as he tried to cut a delivery from Shrikant Mundhe and dragged the back ball onto his stumps.

Brief Scores:

Maharashtra: 196 & 266.

Delhi: 193 & 273-3 (Shikhar Dhawan 116 not out, Mohit Sharma 51, Mithun Manhas 51).