When Maharashtra’s opener Harshad Khadiwale got out in the second innings after a breezy 63, little would he have known the surprises that lay in store for his team. After all, they had bundled out Delhi after two hours in the morning and had even taken a 23-run lead.

It all seemed hunky dory for Maharashtra, especially when they had reached 81 for 2 at the fall of Khadiwale, but in a blink they were 82 for 5 and in deep slump. However, Chirag Khurana and Rahul Tripathi took them to 187 for 5 at end of the day, 210 runs in front.

It was the 22-year-old Khurana who had dismissed Gautam Gambhir in the morning, top-edging a slog sweep, and turned the game around.

Gambhir just added a run to his overnight total and Rajat Bhatia added 22 to his overnight 43 before the lower order collapsed. Once an opener, these days Khurana plays in the lower order and it was his bowling that saved his spot. After three poor games, Maharashtra were looking for another opener when they travelled to Rajkot.

As luck would have it, Saurashtra had made a turning track and Maharashtra decided to deploy Khurana’s offspinners to bolster their specialist left-arm spinner Akshay Darekar. And Khurana has hung on to the opportunity really well. He hit 69 batting in lower order and took 5 for 70 against Saurashtra before hitting 82 against Rajasthan in the next game to gain a firm footing in the team.

On Friday, he found good support in Tripathi and both slowly dragged Maharashtra out of trouble.

Khurana (63*) impressed with his shot selection, pulling Awana for a couple of fours, while Tripathi (40*) used his feet well against the spinners, cutting and driving them.

By the time stumps were drawn, they had added 105 runs for the sixth wicket with Maharashtra 187 on board. Tripathi had batted out 111 balls; it could have bored many but he did the job for his team.

Khurana’s unbeaten 63 came in 123 deliveries and importantly, he shepherded Tripathi through a semi-crisis by soaking up the pressure.

Delhi will now hope to bank on the early morning session, which has given enough support to bowlers in the last three days, for a thrilling final day.

Brief Scores: Maharashtra 1st Innings 330 & 187/5 (Harshad Khadiwale 63, Chirag Khurana 63, Sumit Narwal 2/43, Parvinder Awana 2/42); Delhi 307 (Gautam Gambhir 94, Virender Sehwag 66, Rajat Bhatia 65, Anupam Sanklecha 4/62).