Bantoo Singh almost forgot to announce his retirement until today — 10 years after he actually quit first class cricket — Board procedural matters necessitating a formal briefing to that effect. The dashing Delhi middle order bat is now the selector of the Ranji team; and he still savours memories of a Delhi-Mumbai contest. “It used to be war in those days,” he says, sitting on the sidelines. It was nothing remotely close to what transpired at the Kotla today. Delhi fell short of saving the follow-on after Manhas left the crease this morning, adding just 10 to his overnight 77. Sarandeep batted like a frontliner, but that came too late as Delhi folded up for 331, just before lunch. Surprisingly, Mumbai were satisfied with the two points and didn’t enforce the follow-on. “Had we got the wickets within the first half hour, we could have thought of it,” reasoned Mumbai coach Kharsan Ghavri. “Our frontline bowlers were tired, and on this kind of wicket it wasn’t worth it,” added skipper Nilesh Kulkarni. He had just received a reprimand from match referee V.K. Ramaswamy for showing dissent and excessive appealing.The last two sessions were formalities, the visitors opting for batting practice and their batsmen making the most of it. Especially Khanvilkar. The left-hander struck 71 before the occasional off-spin of Aakash Chopra did him in.Brief scoresMumbai 551 and 166 for 3 (Onkar Khanvilkar 71,Vinit Indulkar 55) drew with Delhi 331 (Manhas 87, Powar 6-83).
