Ranji Trophy 2015: For Delhi, lower order is the new middle order

UP AGAINST Gautam Gambhir, Vidarbha off-spinner Akshay Wakhare tossed one up, a bit slower in the air. The Delhi captain, batting on 96, went for an expansive slog sweep and ended up getting his stumps rattled.

It was a pretty unattractive shot that brought an end to a rather stubborn innings. Perhaps too keen not to expose his fragile middle-order and consumed by the overwhelming need to get a lead in the first innings, Gambhir continued with his dogged display of batsmanship, similar to the one he had displayed on Day 2.

His dismissal came at a crucial juncture. Delhi were 184/4, and still over 100 runs short of Vidarbha’s total.

jQuery(document).ready(function(){ jQuery('.rel-article').bxSlider({ maxSlides: 6, slideMargin: 3 }); });

Gambhir’s wicket got the visitors back in the game. Sensing an inexperienced Delhi middle order, Vidarbha captain S Badrinath went for the kill. Rotating his bowlers, he got immediate results. In the next nine overs Delhi’s middle order crumbled under the pressure. Milind Kumar, Vaibhav Rawal, Sumit Narwal and Mohit Ahlawat all fell in quick succession to leave the hosts reeling at 196 for 8.

This has been the pattern in Delhi’s batting in the two Ranji matches they have played so far this season. Against Rajasthan, in the first innings, the batting fell like a pack of cards. In the second innings, despite a solid platform provided by Gambhir and deputy Unmukt Chand, the middle order once again caved in, and had it not been Sumit Narwal’s match-saving 106, it would have been sure defeat for the seven-time Ranji Trophy champions.

Like Narwal against Rajasthan, Delhi desperately needed someone to stand his ground today. Thankfully, Manan Sharma and debutant Sarang Rawat was up for that challenge. The duo shed their inhibitions, played positive cricket and upped the scoring rate immediately. Rawat played a cut through point off Akshay Wakhare to get the scoreboard moving.

Sharma, meanwhile, played some splendid cover drives and even hoisted Wakhare for a six. The two stitched a ninth wicket stand of 88, which came in a little more than 20 overs.

This partnership galvanised the sagging spirits of the home side. Once Rawat was dismissed for 42, Ishant Sharma then hung on with Sharma to help Delhi seize a crucial 4-run lead.

It proved to be the catalyst as a pumped up Delhi put Vidarbha under the cosh. Pradeep Sangwan removed opener Faiz Fazal and then had Wasim Jaffer caught brilliantly by stand-in captain Chand for 21. First innings’ wreaker-in-chief Ishant came as second change and impressed with his pace and bounce.

He had Shalabh Srivastava caught behind for 10 to leave Vidarbha gasping at 39 for 4, a lead of barely 43 runs. If Delhi can claim the remaining wickets cheaply, getting an outright win won’t be that difficult.

Brief scores: Vidarbha: 298 & 47/4 in 24 overs (Pradeep Sangwan 2/22, Ishant Sharma 1/9) vs Delhi 302 in 123.3 overs (Gautam Gambhir 96, Nitish Rana 61, Manan Sharma 53, Sarang Rawat 42; Akshay Wakhare 5/113).