Cometh the hour,cometh the Mann

Earlier in the morning,Punjab were jolted in the first session of play. Sunny Sehrawat dismissed Gitansh Khera on 59 and soon after,Vikram Dahiya from the opposite end,got the better off Gurinder Singh for naught,with the batsman nicking one behind. Gunjot Singh was the next to go,as he edged an away moving delivery of Sehrawat to Vaibhav Rawal at slips. The visitors lost three wickets for just 15 runs and suddenly,400-plus seemed a far cry. But Mann and Siddharth Kaul took time to get their eye in. Kaul was impeccable in his defence,leaving Mann to free his hands from the other end.

Mann slogged the Delhi bowling and his quick scoring brought Punjab back into the fight. He continued to reach landmarks in his innings with boundaries,getting to his 50,100 and 150 with drives and back foot punches.

At lunch the scoreboard indicated 382/8,and soon Kaul made his walk back on 26 falling to Dahiya in the first over post lunch. Mann and Kaul together added 101 to the total. Mann sensed the need of the hour and farmed the strike. He sacrificed singles and concentrated on boundaries. En route to his 187,he dispatched Varun Sood for a magnificent six over cover and in the next over,he dumped Rishit Saini over his head and onto the second floor of the stands. The next was even bigger,travelling miles into the mid-wicket stand,as he flicked an incoming delivery from Vikram Dahiya. With Mann looking set for a double hundred,Dahiya got his revenge,getting him out caught behind with the last ball of the over to put an end on Punjab’s innings and Delhi’s suffering.

The Delhi openers couldn’t give the side an impressive start as Baltej Singh proved too hot to handle. He sent back the experienced Mohit Sharma with his fifth delivery as keeper Gitansh Khera lunged forward to pouch the edge. Soon he cut short Aditya Kaushik’s stay on 14 with his in-cutter in the sixth over. Kaushik bat-padded while trying to defend and Jiwanjot Singh made no mistake at forward shot leg.

Dhruv Shorey and Milind Kumar then steadied the innings,putting up a 40-run stand. Shorey milked an off-colour Siddharth Kaul and left-armer Gurinder Singh. Baltej Singh then sent Shorey’s stumps cart-wheeling with a superb delivery that left him from the middle stump to knock off,on 35. Milind Kumar responded by digging in but from the other end,the wickets continued to fall. Vaibhav Rawal then fell for 23 when he played an irresponsible shot that took the leading edge of off-spinner Gunjot Singh. At close of play,Milind (47) and nightwatchman Rishit Saini were on crease with the hosts placed at 133 for 4 in 35 overs.

Brief scores: Punjab 1st innings 424 all out in 125.5 overs (Gurkeerat Mann 187,Pargat Singh 78,Gitansh Khera 59; Sunny Sehrawat 4/96,Vikram Dahiya 3/96); Delhi 1st innings 133 for 4 in 35 overs (Milind Kumar batting 47,Dhruv Shorey 35,Baltej Singh 3/38)