Ranji Trophy: Gautam Gambhir, Delhi struggle but remain favourites

Delhi extended their lead against Haryana to 224 runs on a curtailed Day 3 of the Group B match.

In the last over before tea, Haryana skipper Harshal Patel brought back his strike bowler Mohit Sharma. Delhi had laboured along to 74 for the loss of Unmukt Chand’s wicket. Gambhir, batting on 34, took fresh guard. Mohit steamed in and bowled one that reared off a good length. The Delhi skipper barely managed to fend it off. The Haryana seamer then followed it up with a beautiful outswinger, to which Gambhir was beaten all ends up.

Patel’s troops had already conceded a 164-run lead, but they were sensing an opportunity. Gambhir was then hit on his pads by Mohit’s inswinger. The entire Haryana team went up in unison. The umpire, however, turned down their appeal. In the confusion that followed, Gambhir collected two runs and the umpire signaled leg-byes. Mohit was livid. He was sure he had got the opposition captain. Gambhir had survived, only just.

After tea, he survived another round of disciplined bowling by Mohit & Co. But he would add only 12 more, taking his personal tally to 46, after which a young Kuldeep Hooda dismissed him.

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It was a strange innings by the Delhi captain. It was an innings bereft of flair or doggedness. Haryana bowlers led by the two Sharmas — Mohit and Joginder — tested the 33-year-old in the opening session. Under helpful conditions, the duo cut and swung the ball both ways. They kept testing Gambhir in that corridor of uncertainty and more often than not, he would get beaten.

Boundaries were hard to come by, and with limited footwork he looked completely out-of-sorts. Apart from Mohit’s LBW appeal before tea, Gambhir survived another close appeal, also an LBW shout, by Joginder in the 9th over.

Haryana bowlers bowled with intent. What was lacking in the opening session was luck. It finally favoured the hosts in the final session. Joginder , who got rid of Chand, came back and bowled with sustained aggression and accuracy. Along with Hooda, the duo ran through Delhi’s middle-order, picking up four wickets in just 12 overs, to leave Delhi gasping at 134 for 5, when bad light stopped play.Sehwag, Delhi’s first innings centurion, managed only eight, before he was trapped in front by Joginder. Despite Delhi’s dismal show with the bat, they already have a 224-run cushion going into the final day. The spicy nature of the pitch will not change much and with an inexperienced batting line-up that Haryana has, Delhi look favourites. What will act as a deterrent for a possible result though will be the weather.

DELAYED START

Only 38 overs were possible on Day three in Lahli. At 9.30 am, the entire Bansi Lal Stadium was engulfed in fog. Visibility was poor and sustained cloud cover meant covers could not be removed during the morning session. Play finally resumed at 1.30 pm .

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Brief Scores: Delhi: 278 & 134/5 (Gautam Gambhir 46, Shivam Sharma 25; Joginder Sharma 3/18, Kuldeep Hooda 2/22) vs Haryana: 188 all out.

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