It146;s now or never for Delhi and Saurashtra

It's been twenty-five years since they met each other but Delhi and Saurashtra will have little time to get friendly.

It8217;s been twenty-five years since they met each other but Delhi and Saurashtra will have little time to get friendly. Rather, it will be a hard-fought battle at the Madhav Rao Stadium in Rajkot over the next four days between two teams who are on the brink of reaching either extremes of this Elite group.

Delhi are placed fifth in the group with six points, and a win here would keep them in reckoning for a semi-final slot, while a defeat for Saurashtra, who still have to open their tally in the points table, would plunge themselves deep into relegation zone. Though the wicket isn8217;t exactly a green-top, there8217;s a fair sprinkling of grass and it is likely to assist good bounce 8212; the only concern being that the wicket may deteriorate, much like in the previous match against Tamil Nadu, as the match goes on.

Delhi coach Chetan Chauhan will bank on his three-seam attack 8212; with Amit Bhandari likely to get his first match of the season 8212; and give off-spinner Suhail Sharma his debut match to counter four left-handers in the opposition camp. Delhi8217;s batting line-up looks formidable, with the likes of Aakash Chopra, Mayank Tehlan, Mitthun Manhas, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli all among runs.

On the other hand, Saurashtra have a big question ahead of their match, with skipper Jaydev Shah remaining a doubtful starter after having been diagnosed with fever and swelling in his abdomen. Shah remained more worried about the lack of depth in batting and the skipper8217;s absence might just add to their woes.

8220;Though the bowlers have done their job well, it8217;s the batsmen who have to play with responsibility. We have to build on partnerships if we have to set a huge target which we haven8217;t been able to do so far,8221; skipper Jaydev Shah told The Indian Express before leaving for hospital.

Cheteshwar Pujara, after a 177-run knock in the last match, looks in prime form and the hosts would be counting on him to deliver another big innings.

Mumbai battle relegation

Mumbai: Mumbai would hope to make a strong comeback against Gujarat when they play their fourth match at the Wankhede Stadium.

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Mumbai, who are placed last in Group B with no points, will have to win to avoid relegation.

Meanwhile Maharashtra, led by ace leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule, will take on hosts Bengal at Eden Gardens tomorrow.

Other matches:

Andhra v Karnataka at Anantpur; Baroda v Haryana at Vadodara; Tamil Nadu v Uttar Pradesh at Chennai; Rajasthan v Punjab at Jaipur.