Sport - Cricket   

Gambhir scores century, but Delhi not yet out of the woods

NEW DELHI NOV. 17. Gautam Gambhir followed up his first innings 96 with a fighting century in the second innings. But Delhi, at 223 for nine, after conceding a lead of 40 runs to Mumbai, was far from being in a happy frame of mind at the end of the third day's play in the Ranji Trophy Elite group `A' match at the Jamia Millia ground here on Monday.

With the pitch affording help to the spinners, though not to the extent that the Delhi batting line-up should fold up so meekly a second time, there could still be a lot to play for in this match. But at the end of the third day, Mumbai seemed to have gained a decisive edge. The onus will be on the Delhi spinners to turn the match around on the morrow.

Starting the day at 183 for eight in reply to Delhi's first-innings score of 199, Mumbai added 56 more runs in 96 minutes before being all out. Overnight not out batsman Bhavin Thakkar did the bulk of the scoring, remaining unbeaten on 71 in his 282-minute knock. The other overnight not out, Nilesh Kulkarni made seven while last man Munaf Patel contributed 11, all valuable runs in a low-scoring match.

Delhi looked to have regained its batting poise once Gambhir and Akash Chopra settled down for an opening stand of 59. But once the spinners, Sairaj Bahutule and Nilesh Kulkarni, struck in tandem, Delhi had an encore of its first-innings nightmare.

That the innings was not allowed to fall apart completely was thanks to a fourth-wicket stand between Gambhir and Ajay Jadeja. The former India star, back in action following court orders and an acrimonious selection, proved his worth in a patient 71-minute knock of 31 (four fours) before being run out.

Gambhir was sixth out, gobbled up at long on by Vinod Kambli, while trying to loft Kulkarni beyond the ropes. By then he had struck seven boundaries and batted 258 minutes.

Brief scores: Delhi 199 and 223 for nine (Gautam Gambhir 105, Ajay Jadeja 31, Akash Chopra 28, Sairaj Bahutule three for 76, Nilesh Kulkarni four for 76) v Mumbai 239 (Bhavin Thakkar 71 not out, Sarandeep Singh five for 107, Rahul Sanghvi four for 72).

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

Cricket

• India faces a stern test
• Ganguly racing against time to get fit
• Chance for youngsters to prove a point
• A mockery of selection process
• Bengal follows on
• Hemant's hundred helps Kerala take lead
• LOIs at the Eden Gardens
• Gambhir scores century, but Delhi not yet out of the woods
  
  Tennis
  
• Weather disrupts schedule
  
  Billiards & Snooker
  
• Advani puts it across Hartley
  
  Chess
  
• Humpy back to winning ways
• Kasparov crushes X3D Fritz
• Venkatesh, Das share lead
  
  

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu