Delhi's spinners were unable to display enough potency when it mattered as an inexperienced Chandigarh side got a crucial first-innings lead of 48 runs on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group D match in Chandigarh. (Streaming | More Cricket News)
Bowled out for 276 in their first essay after poor selection call by head coach Sarandeep Singh, who picked Kshitiz Sharma ahead of an in-form Jonty Sidhu, the Delhi bowlers couldn't stop Chandigarh's tail from wagging as they ended the first innings on 324.
If Delhi fail to win this match outright, it could affect their prospects of entering the knock-out stages, and dropping a steady southpaw like Jonty, who has a first-class average of 45 plus, will come back to haunt Sarandeep and chief selector Gursharan Singh, both of whom have made questionable selection calls in the ongoing season.
Having conceded the first-innings lead, Delhi were 32 for no loss in their second innings with 16 runs still in arrears going into the third day. The Delhi batters will have to put enough runs on the board and then give sufficient time to the slow bowlers to eke out six points from this game.
The turning point of the match was the seventh-wicket partnership of 47 between Mayank Sidhu (44) and Gurinder Singh (32). When the duo joined forces, Chandigarh were in a spot of bother at 226 for six with 51 runs still required for first-innings lead. This was after veteran Manan Vohra (44) and opener Shivam Bhambri (80) added 100 for the second wicket.
By the time Gurinder departed after the stand lasted for 11.5 overs, Chandigarh were within sniffing distance of the first-innings lead.
While Delhi spinners accounted for eight wickets, it is the second time in the tournament that part-time off-break bowler Ayush Badoni took a four-wicket haul, while left-arm spinner Sumit Mathur got two wickets.
But it was disappointing to see off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen and second specialist left-arm spinner Shivank Vashist bowl 31 overs between them on a slow turner and get only one wicket.
Brief Scores
In Chandigarh: Delhi 1st Innings 276 and 32/0. Chandigarh 1st Innings 324 (Shivam Bhambri 80, Manan Vohra 44, Mayank Sidhu 44, Ayush Badoni 4/57).
In Ranchi: Jharkhand 1st Innings 306 (SS Bhatia 73, Manishi 73, Hiten Kanbi 5/70, Jaydev Unadkat 3/64). Saurashtra 201/4 (Harvik Desai 81, Chirag Jani 56, Cheteshwar Pujara 14).
In Guwahati: Tamil Nadu 1st Innings 338 (C Andre Siddarth 94, Vijay Shankar 76, Swarupam Purkayastha 2/34). Assam 1st Innings 176/3 (Rishav Das 54, Denish Das 54, Gurjapneet Singh 1/32).
In Raipur: Chhattisgarh 1st Innings 500/9 declared (Sanjeet Desai 110, Ajay Mandal 66, Karn Sharma 3/111). Railways 1st Innings 75/0 (Vivek Singh 52 batting).
