Delhi can’t afford a slip-up here

Old-timers now say that no domestic batsman would be truly worth his salt without scoring runs here, where defending Ranji champions Delhi and current holders of the Plate Division title, Gujarat, start another four-day face-off on Sunday.

Things should be interesting because of the pitch, which is complete with all the ingredients — early morning dampness, live grass, coastal breeze, and the red soil that provides bounce and carry.

Desperately in need of points, this game is more crucial for Delhi than any this season, and the absence of some of their main players is adding to problems. The visitors have decided to hand out batsmen Gaurav Chhabra and Yogesh Nagar — craving for a chance to prove themselves for a long time now — their debut caps.

After the bowlers’ lion-hearted effort in the last three games on unresponsive wickets, Delhi are confident of doing better on this this track but their main worry has been their batting, especially the lack of big scores from skipper Aakash Chopra to his deputy Shikhar Dhawan.

Gujarat at home

For Gujarat, the Patels — skipper Parthiv, Niraj, Sunny and Timil — have been amongst runs, Nilesh Modi is fresh from a big double hundred, while Priyank Panchal has been hitting the numbers as well.

Their bowling attack, too, is balanced. Off-spinner Mohnish Parmer has picked up 17 wickets this season, while seamer Siddharth Trivedi forms a good team with Ashraf Makda. Ishwar Chaudhary has come in the place of Amit Singh as the only change in the team.