Old rivalry on young legs

Irrespective of what the discussion,throw a Delhi versus Mumbai angle in and chances are temperatures will rise. Its the same when it comes to the cricket field as well....

Irrespective of what the discussion,throw a Delhi versus Mumbai angle in and chances are temperatures will rise. Its the same when it comes to the cricket field as well.

One team has won the Ranji Trophy a record 38 times,and has historically been the cradle of Indian cricket; the other may have lifted the title just 7 times in comparison,but one look at the Indian team sheets of late suggests that they now are the assembly line Mumbai used to be.

And while Delhis stock has risen exponentially in Indian cricket of late,theyll have to ensure it doesnt prove to be their downfall when the two sides meet in the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy at the Brabourne Stadium starting Sunday.

Virender Sehwag,Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli are away with the Indian team,while opener Aakash Chopra is still recovering from a knee injury. The only big name they have in the squad is Ishant Sharma.

For Mumbai,uncertainty also prevails over paceman Dhawal Kulkarni,who picked up a side-strain during the quarter-final against Haryana,while Ajit Agarkar,feeling feverish,is still in doubt. However,it is the absence of Rohit Sharma away on national duty as well that will be felt most.

Delhi captain Rajat Bhatia sees this as an opportunity for the other players to step up and make a name for themselves. Playing against Mumbai is always different. Its said that the truly big players raise their level for the big matches,so we are eager to see who comes out better here, Bhatia said.

Roller-coaster ride

Delhis season has been a roller-coaster so far. They started the campaign under the leadership of Aakash Chopra,but things were going horribly wrong with murmurs of a relegation battle doing the rounds.

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With Chopra indisposed,Kohli was picked to lead in the must-win game against Saurashtra clearly the turning point of the season. In their next match they beat Maharashtra with a bonus point to all but seal a spot in the last eight. With Kohli joining the Indian side for the one-dayers against Sri Lanka,Bhatia was handed the reins.

This season players took up the responsibility quickly. Its not easy to score runs and take wickets when you are have played just a few matches. If you see,only Puneet Bisht,Parwinder Awana and I have played the entire season. The bench strength has done a great job, Bhatia said.

Bhatia (444 runs) and wicket-keeper batsman Bisht (512 runs) have been the top performers,while old warhorse Mithun Manhas will be eager to use his experience.

Batting reshuffle

Mumbai skipper Wasim Jaffer agreed that Delhi have shown depth to handle big-name absentees,and adds that they will be a big threat,especially with the ball.

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Ishant is a proven performer and there is no doubt about that. We need to be watchful of him, Jaffer said,adding that a reshuffle was very much on the cards. I will open the innings with Sahil (Kukreja). We have not been getting the right starts,and I have to take the responsibility to see off the new ball.

Kukreja himself seems to relish matches against Delhi against whom he has scores of 229 not out and 199 in his last two outings.

Teams:

Delhi: Rajat Bhatia (C),Mayank Tehlan,Shikhar Dhawan,Aditya Jain,Mithun Manhas,Gaurav Chabra,Puneet Bisht,Ishant Sharma,Parwinder Awana,Pradeep Sangwan,Sumit Narwal,Vikas Mishra,Yogesh Nagar,Pawan Suyal,Chetanya Nanda.

Mumbai: Wasim Jaffer (C),Ajit Agarkar,Praful Waghela,Sahil Kukreja,Ajinkya Rahane,Prashant Naik,Sushant Marathe,Ramesh Powar,Vinayak Samant,Usman Malvi,Dhawal Kulkarni,Onkar Khanvilkar,Abhsishek Nayar,Avishkar Salvi,Iqbal Abdullah.

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