Fog plays spoilsport at Kotla

Though,collectively it was a forgettable outing for Delhi but for Punit Bisht it was memorable. He salvaged his career with a 64-balls 53 that had eight boundaries and one six. Delhi,who strangely didn’t attempt to score quick runs and opt for a sporting declaration,were eventually bowled out for 311.

This meant Tamil Nadu had to score 218 in 49 overs,a steep climb considering the fading light and an unpredictable pitch. And with the first inning hero Abhinav Mukund only allowed to bat after the fall of six wickets,since he was away from the field,the visitors didn’t seem in a mood to show bravado and undertake the dangerous chase.

In their last game against Haryana,TN had almost chased down a stiff target of 146 in 13 overs as they fell short by just 5 runs. And on Sunday when the duo of KB Arun Karthik and Murali Vijay walked to start the TN innings,there were a few at Kotla who thought that they would be flying off the blocks.

But with the score reading 35/2 in the 11th over,it was clear that TN batsmen would now be playing for a draw. Pacer Parvinder Awana had given Delhi the early breakthrough as he got Arun to nick in the slips with the one that nipped away late. Vijay was run out when a direct throw from Unmukt Chand caught him short of the crease.

Baba Aparajith,promoted up the order,scored 44 but was unlucky to be robbed off his maiden half-century by fading light. Dinesh Karthik scored 52 from 81 balls before becoming Awana’s second victim. For a brief period,the pair seemed to stepping up the run rate. They scoring seven boundaries in a span of six overs but Delhi skipper Mithun Manhas brought his pacers back in the attack and that saw the batsmen go into a shell again.

Awana bent his back and impressed everyone with his searing pace — clocking in excess of 140kmph. He concentrated on bowling on and outside off-stump. That was the only positive for Delhi,who after an eight-day gap will resume their battle to move up from the relegation zone.

Brief scores: Delhi 212 & 311 (Milind Kumar 58,Yogesh Nagar 56,Punit Bisht 53; L Balaji 4/65,J Kaushik 3/60,A Srinivas 2/48) vs Tamil Nadu 306 & 129/3 (Dinesh Karthik 52,Baba Aparajith not out 44; P Awana 2/32).