Delhi produced yet another inept batting performance on Monday to end up with a single point against Baroda in a Group D match, thereby dashing hopes of a knock-out qualifications in this year’s Ranji Trophy.
After Baroda declared their first innings at 435 for 9, Delhi starting the day at 113 for 4, and they were all-out for 177. Adding insult to injury, Baroda skipper Vishnu Solanki enforced the follow-on and Delhi crawled to 68 for 1 in 34 overs when the two captains decided to shake hands.
Delhi are now placed seventh in Group D with eight points from five games and two left — one away against Himachal Pradesh and one at home against Odisha. Baroda are through to knock-outs with 23 points from five games.
Delhi need to ensure that they get the first innings lead against HP in the Dharamsala match in order to avoid relegation, which would be a first in their history.
In a weather-affected match, Delhi could have easily prevented Baroda from getting a first innings lead on a docile track which would have at least given them psychological advantage.
However, there was distinct lack of application from Delhi’s young batting line-up as six wickets fell for 64 runs in little under 21 overs.
Atit Seth (3/39 in 14 overs), a medium pacer, who till last year had played for India, got three wickets while left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt (3/18) quickly wrapped up the tail.
Once Ayush Badoni (44) nicked one to Shivalik Sharma in the slips off Seth, there was no resistance from other batters.
From their body language, one could gauge that despite there being nothing on offer for bowlers on the flat Airforce Stadium track, the young Delhi batters were jittery because of overcast weather and their inability to counter swing bowling.
Former India U-19 captain Yash Dhull, whom many considered as the next big batting talent from Delhi, came in at No. 9 as he had scratched his knee and lower abdomen while fielding.
He however came out to open in the second innings when the match as a contest was all but over.
Brief Scores
In Delhi: Baroda 435/9 dec. Delhi 177 in 56.2 overs (Ayush Badoni 44, Jonty Sidhu 40, Atit Seth 3/39, Bhargav Bhatt 3/18) & (f/o) 68/1 in 34 overs (Yash Dhull 39 not out). Points: Baroda 3; Delhi 1
In Cuttack: Odisha 322 and 201 (Govinda Poddar 46, Gourav Yadav 3/48, Sagar Udeshi 4/45). Puducherry 284 and (Target 240) 175/8 (Paras Ratnaparkhe 72, Biplab Samantray 2/28). Odisha 3. Puducherry 1.
In Jammu: J&K 168/2 vs Uttarakhand. J&K 1. Uttarakhand 1.
In Dharamsala: Himachal Pradesh 169 and 42/5 (Anubhav Agarwal 4/6). Madhya Pradesh 217 (Venkatesh Iyer 72). Points: MP 3. HP 1.
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