WACA echoes at Wankhede: Delhi’s seventh title

‘Double dhamaka’, screamed the cricketers as beer cans and champagne bottles were opened inside the dressing room.

Sehwag and Ishant Sharma had plotted successfully against the Australians in Perth, and in Mumbai, Gambhir’s boys held their nerve until it all became easy in the end.

Chasing 230 for victory, Gambhir began in a manner that was evident of his Twenty20 success. The left-hander struck three boundaries before he actually settled down to take stock of the situation and despite losing the wicket of Aakash Chopra, Uttar Pradesh knew they were heading for doom.

Delhi won the match by nine wickets, one that had been dominated by Uttar Pradesh for a good two and-a-half days.

Having received the trophy at the hands of chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar, Gambhir got busy on phone.

It was a call from Perth, Sehwag and Sharma eager to know about the victory.

“It has been a wonderful team effort. We were all quite frustrated over the last couple of years for not having done enough to reach here. It was a dream that we were all focused on, and finally it has happened,” Gambhir said after the match.

In their established careers, if Gambhir, Sehwag and Chopra had been desperately missing out on anything, it had to be the Ranji Trophy.

In hindsight, Uttar Pradesh captain Mohammad Kaif can blame himself for the atrocious stroke he played the other day, trying to reach out to a delivery outside off, edging to the wicket-keeper.

Had he stuck around, with Suresh Raina, the story could have been different. “Yes, I accept it was a bad stroke. But mistakes do happen,” Kaif said after the match.

That was the beginning of UP’s downfall—from 123-3 on Friday afternoon when Kaif was caught, soon to 130-6, and eventually 177 all out this morning.

The lower order succumbed to Delhi left-arm medium-pacer Pradeep Sangwan.

The morning helped Sangwan the same way UP medium-pacer Praveen Kumar got it on the third day. Sangwan bowled a tight line too, just short of good length that never...