The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Delhi grabs first innings lead

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 25, 2004

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Sport - Cricket

Delhi grabs first innings lead

By Our Sports Reporter

KOLKATA, DEC. 24. Delhi ensured two vital points overhauling Bengal's first innings total of 240, on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match here at the Eden Gardens on Friday. The points' factor apart, the visitors failed to make the desired headway in the first innings that folded up just 11 runs ahead of the host, at 251.

On the other hand Bengal wrested the initiative putting up 190 runs losing only three wickets in the second innings, at the end of the day.

Having lost the chance of gaining the lead in the first innings, Bengal appeared striving for an outright victory — raising the prospects of an absorbing contest on the final day.

Earlier, the Bengal pacers, Shib Shankar Paul and Ranadeb Bose, made the most of the favourable conditions in the first session to force an end to the visitor's innings.

The two Bengal pacers shared the spoil picking up five wickets each. Delhi, which was at a healthy 184 for three overnight, saw the initiative slipping out of its grip. The Bengal pace duo worked out a consistent line and length that saw seven Delhi batsmen get out in a span of 27.1 overs — just before lunch.

The unbeaten overnight pair of Mithun Manhas and Vijay Dahiya could add only four runs to their 133-run partnership before the former, without adding any run to his overnight score of 79, was clean bowled by Paul in his second delivery of the day.

With Paul making the old ball work a lot, Dahiya (73) was the next to depart in the former's second over caught plumb in front of the of the wicket.

Captain Ajay Jadeja (6) could not help much as he fell to the deadly line of Paul. N.S. Negi joined the procession soon before Rajat Bhatia temporarily stemmed the rot with a 31-run partnership with Kunal Lal for the eighth wicket. This effort saw Delhi get past the host's first innings total before Bhatia, trying to speed up the scoring, was caught at gully. In the third leg-before decision of the day, Lal was picked up by Paul while Rahul Sanghvi departed in similar fashion to Bose. Bengal started a bit too cautiously after lunch and found the innings drift into doldrums with neither of its openers, Deep Dasgupta and Arindam Das, showing enough drive to go for runs. As Das departed in the 17th over, the Bengal collection stood at a mere 30 runs. Debutant Rakesh Krishnan showed some purpose scoring briskly but his stay was curtailed at 34 (28 balls) as Amit Bhandari got him edging to be caught at slips. The acceleration was continued by Laxmi Ratan Shukla (44 batting), who put up a 68-run partnership with Dasgupta.

After Dasgupta left, having scored a patient 56, Bengal captain Rohan Gavaskar (34 batting) enhanced the fireworks rejecting an offer of fading light by the umpires. Gavaskar and Shukla added 43 quick runs before umpires stopped play 17 minutes ahead of the scheduled end. Gavaskar was fortunate to survive at 29 when Jadeja dropped him of his own bowling.

The scores:

Bengal (1st innings): 240.

Delhi (1st innings): A. Chopra lbw b Paul 3; G. Gambhir c Shukla b Bose 29; S. Dhawan lbw b Bose 1; M. Manhas b Paul 79; V. Dahiya lbw b Paul 73; R. Bhatia c Lodhgar b Bose 39; A. Jadeja lbw b Paul 6; N.S. Negi c Dasgupta b Bose 4; K. Lal lbw b Paul 4; R. Sanghvi lbw b Bose 0; A. Bhandari (not out) 1. Extras (lb-11, nb-1) 12. Total 251.

Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-13, 3-51, 4-188, 5-193, 6-207, 7-214, 8-245, 9-245.

Bengal bowling: Paul 32.1-10-89-5, Bose 28-9-53-5, Shukla 11-1-37-0, Lodhgar 11-3-23-0, Kundu 10-2-33-0, Gavaskar 1-0-5-0.

Bengal (2nd innings): A. Das lbw b Negi 20; D. Dasgupta c Gambhir b Bhandari 56; R. Krishnan c Chopra b Bhandari 34; L.R. Shukla (batting) 44; R. Gavaskar (batting) 34. Extras (b-1, lb-1) 2. Total (for three wkts) 190.

Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-79, 3-147.

Delhi bowling: Negi 11-3-42-1, Lal 13.1-2-53-0, Bhandari 10-2-42-2, Bhatia 5-1-18-0, R. Sanghvi 4-0-30-0, Jadeja 1-0-3-0.

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