The very first delivery he had faced off Amit Bhandari, the ball swinging on to his legs, Tanmay chipped it to mid-wicket for four. The stroke may have given him a lot of confidence—especially given his recent form playing for the India Under-19 team. However, Tanmay decided to take it slow as he understood how UP were placed precariously enough to lose the initiative. The next eight deliveries he faced saw no run being scored as the batsman tried his best to settle down.

Eventually, as he batted for another 165 deliveries, striking 12 boundaries more and a six, the cricketer from Kanpur - slightly built and in his second year of domestic cricket—went on to score 105, before slashing a wide enough delivery that should’ve been left alone, to the gully. Delhi celebrated as the highest scorer for the day departed.

Tanmay’s partner for most of his innings and close friend, Ravikant Shukla, gained from the 101-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Shukla stayed on till the end of the day’s play, scripting an unbeaten 80 and will come out to bat again on Thursday morning.

For Delhi, who did a good job in picking the early wickets, Sangwan remained the most impressive bowler for the day. Though he and Narwal both picked three wickets each, Sangwan’s dismissal of Tanmay finally managed to bring Delhi back into the game. The batsman, for the record, had been dropped when he was on 13 by Narwal, an opportunity missed which otherwise would’ve led to a different story altogether.

... contd.