Opener Unmukt Chand failed to stick around for 16 runs as Delhi missed out on well-deserved bonus point despite a convincing nine-wicket win over Saurashtra in the opening group league encounter of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament here on Wednesday.
The win got Delhi six points, which easily could have been seven points had Delhi attained the target of 16 runs without losing a wicket. But Unmukt, who is going through a terrible patch at the moment, played wrong line to an Abhishek Bhatt delivery which saw his off stump go for a walk.
Skipper Gautam Gambhir could only watch in disgust as Delhi blew the easiest chance to get a bonus point having dismissed Saurashtra for 240 in the second innings.
Young Navdeep Saini (3/27) had the best figures but Sumit Narwal was the bowler who made maximum impact with his deliveries that were pitched on perfect length with just adequate movement.
Starting the day at 163 for six, Saurashtra added another 77 runs before losing the remaining six wickets in only 31.3 overs. With Narwal breaching through the defences of Sheldon Jackson (51, 6x4) and Divyaraj Chauhan (21), it was a matter of time before young Navdeep took the stuffing out of the tail to polish off the tail.
Narwal was certainly best player of the match with a haul of six wickets and a half century. Delhi’s Varun Sood played an off drive to finish it off in style but Delhi will certainly rue the missed opportunities.
Brief Scores
Delhi: 442 & 16/1 beat Saurashtra: 217 & (f/o) 240 in 90.3 overs (Sheldon Jackson 51, Navdeep Saini 3/27, Sumit Narwal 3/41) by 9 wickets.
Delhi to play all remaining matches at Kotla: Chauhan
Delhi captain Gautam Gambhir’s fascination to play at the Roshanara Club ground is well documented but DDCA’s senior vice-president Chetan Chauhan has on Wednesday official confirmed that three of the remaining home matches will be happening at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground.
“let me confirm this. Delhi will play all their remaining Ranji Trophy matches at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground. There will be no change in this regard,” Chauhan told the mediapersons at a press conference here on Wednesday.
Chauhan said that the concerns of BCCI’s ACSU unit about safety of players can’t be addressed if first-class matches are held at Roshanara.
“Roshanara is a social club where its members are its priority. It is not a cricket club and you can’t restrict the entry of its members. DDCA is a cricket club and Feroz Shah Kotla is the ground for cricketing activity,” said Chauhan.
Since the security of players might not be upgraded at the Roshanara, the ground where BCCI was originally found under the stewardship of its first president Anthony de Mello might not ever host a first-class match again.