Sport - Cricket

Delhi has to deliver to stay in the hunt

Rajkot: Delhi is anxious a fortnight before the Ranji Trophy knock-out that starts on Boxing Day. Its campaign over several weeks, in defence of the title it won after 16 years, has gone awry.

Though it has jumped from a six points to 11 on the back of Ishant Sharma’s hostile bowling against Orissa and Sumit Narwal’s brave unconquered 66 in that pulsating match ten days ago at the Kotla, the gloom in the Delhi camp is far from over.

It has to deal the knock-out punch on Saurashtra in the sixth round Super League match in order to further its chances of making four-day quarterfinals.

The circumstances stipulates it works stoutly towards five points from Friday as three points would not suffice as a relief in the assumption that it would somehow overpower Rajasthan and gain full points from the last league match at Jaipur.

Mumbai (21), Saurashtra (18) and Gujarat (18) are ahead of Delhi and only three teams make the cut from each group. “We are anxious and the pressure is on the team. Pressure is on all teams and that’s how the first class competition should be played,” said coach Vijay Dahiya

Dahiya virtually took the pitch and toss out of equation saying: “What matters is how Delhi as a team plays and rises to the occasion. No one has scored a century so far, but we have a distinguished opener (Akash Chopra) who knows more than anyone else what a first class match is all about.”

The visitor has a formidable line-up in Chopra, Shikar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia. And each one of them is capable of delivering the goods on a pitch that has for decades favoured batsmen and against a bowling attack that’s very tidy and perseverant, but far from cunning.

If they bat first, Delhi batsmen have to put the runs on the scoreboard and bring the opponent under pressure. The bowlers cannot afford to be lax.

Though Ishant Sharma 11 wickets cost him a fraction under five apiece and Narwal’s 13 in three matches at an impressive 18.46, left arm spinner Pradeep Sangwan’s 13 has come at an expensive 40 apiece and Parvinder Awana’s 13 at 30.69. Leg spinner Chetanya Nanda has taken 10 at 50.20.

Cheteshwar Pujara, who has made 681 runs with three centuries, the highest being an unbeaten 302 against Orissa, made 139 when Saurashtra beat Delhi here at the Race Course venue two years ago and last year he made 148 not out in the second innings at the Roshanara.

The teams (from):

Delhi: Akash Chopra (captain), Shikar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Mithun Manhas, Yogesh Nagar, Rajat Bhatia, Punit Bisht, Pradeep Sangwan, Sumit Narwal, Parvinder Awana, Chetanya Nanda, Gaurav Chabra, Kapil Yadav, Naridner Singh and Vartik Tihara.

Saurashtra: Jaydev Shah (captain), Bhushan Chauhan, Chirag Pathak, Sitanshu Kotak, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Sagar Jogiani, Kamlesh Makwana, Rakesh Dhruv, Sandeep Jobanputra, Balkrishna Jadeja, Jayesh Odedra, Shaldon Jackson, Vishal Joshi and Arpit Vasavda.

Umpires: Messrs Sanjay Hazare and Umesh Dubey; Match referee: Nisarg Patel.

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