Batting lets Delhi down in crunch tie

With a cold breeze blowing across the ground and the sun hidden behind a blanket of clouds,the visiting team won the toss and chose to exploit the wicket’s moisture. Delhi skipper Rahul Yadav opened the innings with Abhishek Kapoor and duo amassed 54 runs in 28 overs for the first wicket,before the captain was trapped in front of the stumps by Ashwin.

Delhi posted 100 on the board in the 53rd over,unable to climb to the 2 runs per over mark. Just as Kapoor broke through the shackles with an array of boundaries,he departed on 68,with the team score reading 119/2 in 57 overs.

Fielding as many as four slips and a gully an over later,Ashwin was on a hat-trick when he ripped through the top order with two wickets — Vartik Tihara trapped in front of the wicket and Puneet Mehra caught behind by wicket keeper Gopinath — in successive balls to leave the hosts on 124/4 in 58 overs.

At the arrival of the second new ball,Rohit Jhanjaria’s resistance – 37 runs in just under 200 balls — ended with his scattered stumps. With the score on 181/5,Ashwin returned this time to destroy the lower order,snaring three more wickets – Gaurav Jangra leg before wicket,Vishu Tomar and Abhishek Bhatti clean bowled – in the space of two runs.

Brief scores: Delhi (Ist innings) 187 for 8 in 90 overs (A Kapoor 68,R Jhanjaria 37; RDA Kumar 6/32) vs Tamil Nadu