Gambhir helps Delhi win Ranji Trophy

Gautam Gambhir cracked an unbeaten 130 to help Delhi beat Uttar Pradesh by nine wickets in the final of India's premier first-class tournament for the Ranji Trophy here.

The left-handed India opener hit 17 fours in his 154-ball knock as Delhi chased a 230-run target for the loss of one wicket on the penultimate day of the five-day final to regain the trophy after 16 years.

Gambhir, who has played 14 Tests and 37 one-day internationals, was forced to skip the ongoing Test series in Australia due to a shoulder injury.

India's selectors will name Sunday a one-day squad for next month's triangular series in Australia, also featuring World Cup runners-up Sri Lanka.

Brief scores:

Uttar Pradesh 342 (Tanmay Srivastava 105, Ravikant Shukla 96; Pradeep Sangwan 4-80, Sumit Narwal 4-81) and 177 (Suresh Raina 85; Pradeep Sangwan 5-46).

Delhi 290 (Akash Chopra 102, Rajat Bhatia 139 not out; Praveen Kumar 8-68) and 230-1 (Gautam Gambhir 130 not out).

Result: Delhi win by nine wickets