Delhi ride on Dhawans double

There was only one team that looked equipped to bag an outright win on the Motibaug wicket,and Delhi,surprisingly,seemed to settle...

There was only one team that looked equipped to bag an outright win on the Motibaug wicket,and Delhi,surprisingly,seemed to settle for an anti-climax despite dominating proceedings for the second day running in their Ranji Trophy Elite group opener against Baroda. With the visitors extending their first innings total to 591 after batting for almost two full days,the contest has been reduced to a fight for the first-innings lead. Baroda were left with nine overs to see off on Day Two,which Connor Williams and Satyajit Parab saw off with relative ease,reaching 21 for no loss.

Shikhar Dhawan grabbed spotlight for the second consecutive day with his maiden double hundred,though some of the attention fell on Rajesh Pawar as well,for the wrong reasons. The left-arm spinner became the second Baroda bowler to be called for chucking,when his fourth delivery of the day was deemed illegal by umpire Vishwas Narulkar. Pawar was on the list of bowlers with suspect actions last season as well,and didnt bowl after completing his 22nd over. Salim Veragi,who had been called twice on the opening day,wasnt pressed into operation after the BCCI made a late change in the rulebook,which keeps a bowler out of action for the rest of the match if called for a third time.

As for the cricket itself,little seemed to have changed overnight: the Baroda bowlers failed to create openings after dismissing Rajat Bhatia fell in the third over of the day,while the fielders continued to drop catches.

Shikhar Dhawan started where he left off on Tuesday evening,and in Mayank Tehlan found another able ally,the duo putting on 119 runs for the fourth wicket that stretched beyond lunch.

Tehlan moved his feet well after some early nerves against the second new ball,and found the middle of his bat more often than not,even though his 55 runs contained just four boundaries and a hooked six. Meanwhile,Dhawan earned his fifth reprieve on 149,when Jacob Martin put down a regulation slip catch,but the left-handers second set of hundred was touch more commanding than his first (he was dropped four times on Day One),with wider range of strokes all-around the wicket. The increase in numbers,and decrease in quality,of the men turning their arms over did make things relatively easier. Dhawan reached his maiden double hundred with 20 boundaries and two sixes before he holed out off Jacob Martins leg-breaks partly bored,partly tired after his 583-minute knock.

Yogesh Nagar scored 55 as well,his second first-class half-century,and while he showed some urgency,the rest of the batting collapsed in a meandering final session.

While Delhis opening bowlers bent their backs and extracted life off the pitch,dismissing Barodas veteran batsmen twice in two days could be a daunting task. The morning session on Day Three will provide some answers on where the match is heading.

Story continues below this ad

Brief scores: Delhi 591 all out in 168.4 overs (Shikhar dhawan 224,Rajat Bhatia 78,Mayank Tehlan 55,yogesh Nagar 55; Yusuf Pathan 3/148,Rakesh Solanki 3/73) vs Baroda 22/0

Delhi give Nagar a bowl

Vadodara: Delhi skipper Aakash Chopra decided to toss the ball to part-time off-spinner Yogesh Nagar,despite the bowler figuring in the list of those with suspect actions. The Delhi-Baroda match has been in the limelight after umpires have cracked down hard on Salim Veragi and Rajesh Pawar,both of whom figured on the list of bowlers with suspect actions last season.

Interestingly,Chetan Chauhan,chairman of Delhi selectors and coach Vijay Dahiya had stated that Nagar would be used purely as a batsman after the off-spinner was called thrice for chucking in two years. The Delhi team management,however,clarified from the umpires,who watched Nagar bowl on the eve of the match,who said there was a problem only with his quicker delivery and not the off-break.