Delhi hit speed bumps

The Indian middle order batsman VVS Laxman was stuck in Mumbai after his flight back home to Hyderabad was delayed, but Laxman had to attend to an SOS call from the Uppal Stadium - not from his camp, but from a friend in the rival camp.

VVS Laxman was kept busy through Tuesday afternoon. The Indian middle order batsman was stuck in Mumbai after his flight back home to Hyderabad was delayed, but Laxman had to attend to an SOS call from the Uppal Stadium 8212; not from his camp, but from a friend in the rival camp.

Ashish Nehra8217;s search for a dependable MRI scan for his strained right hamstring ended at the Krishna Medical Institute on Laxman8217;s reference. The Delhi dressing room spent the first two sessions worrying about Nehra8217;s fitness keeping the crucial game against Mumbai, but towards close of play on Day Two, the visitors had a lot more to fret about after the top-order had flattered to deceive.

Both Aakash Chopra and Shikhar Dhawan had thrown away starts, and when Mayank Tehlan8217;s stumps went flying off an inside edge on the last ball of the day, Delhi were left at 124 for 3 from 41 overs 8212; 210 runs away from gaining the first-innings lead. Having imposed themselves in the initial overs of the chase, the visitors have allowed Hyderabad to claw their way back into the game. Tehlan8217;s 66-ball 13 had put the brakes on the scoring rate towards the end of an extended final session, and his dismissal set up an interesting first session for Wednesday.

The Delhi run-rate had hovered at around five an over in the first 10 overs, but slipped steadily after Shikhar Dhawan left the crease. The left-hander had stamped his authority with some power-packed on-side play that complemented Aakash Chopra8217;s sublime high-elbow shots through the covers.

Torrid start

The Delhi opening pair showed ample arrogance against the downtrodden Hyderabad bowling attack, before flimsy attempts to innovate terminated their knocks. Dhawan missed his half-century by three runs, while Chopra got 51 but wasted a big chance to pile on the runs after playing a late cut straight to slip. Ashwin Yadav emerged as the most successful bowler for Hyderabad, picking up the wickets of Dhawan and Tehlan.

For Delhi, Pradeep Sangwan added two more to his overnight tally to finish with four in a long, tiring spell as the Hyderabad innings ended at 334. Sangwan got the first breakthrough, catching MP Arjun off his own bowling as Delhi took the second new ball to start proceedings. Nehra broke down once again after a three-over spell, but the Delhi bowlers kept pounding the Hyderabad tail.

At one point in the session, leg-spinner Chetanya Nanda went down on his knees and kissed the pitch 8212; he had just beaten the bat for the first time that day on a super-flat track. The specialist leg-break bowler had a luckless two days, but Delhi part-time leg-spin option Aditya Jain managed to get a breakthrough with a long hop before lunch. Anoop Pai was strangely subdued in the first session, and fell in the eighth over after lunch after a well-compiled 130.

Hyderabad folded up within 51 minutes after the break.