Delhi’s batting unit picked up from where they left off in Hyderabad last week, making good use of batting-friendly conditions to notch up 306 for 4 at close of play on the opening day to take control of the Ranji Trophy fixture against Himachal Pradesh at the Feroz Shah Kotla grounds here on Saturday.
Even though none of their batters held on to rack up a triple-digit score, runs were to be found throughout the hosts’ batting order, four of their top five – Arpit Rana, Sanat Sangwan, Yash Dhull and Ayush Doseja – each making half centuries.
Of them, Sangwan top scored with a 170-ball 79, and it would be his innings that seemed the most assured. While the rest of the players stuck to their natural strokeplaying tendencies, looking to go after all the loose balls put in from the beleaguered and tired Himachal bowling, Sangwan showed measured restraint, dropping anchor to leave his innings as the base as those around him picked up hefty accumulations.
The 25-year-old followed up his two knocks of 211 not out and 56 against Hyderabad last week, establishing him as Delhi’s form batter at the start of the first phase of the Ranji Trophy. His classical defensive style stands out in front of the naturally attacking players in Delhi’s lineup, and on Saturday it aided them to a big score.
“Our plan was also to bowl first. Because there’s a green top on the wicket and the ball was moving. So we had to play the new ball carefully and I just wanted to bat long,” Sangwan told reporters after the end of day’s play. “It has always been my natural style (to be defensive). This year, I’ve worked on my back foot play as well. So I’m just staying true to what I know and trying to improve.”
On a hazy, gloomy October day in the national capital, typical post-Diwali conditions in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh won the toss and opted to bowl first, a seemingly baffling decision given the history of the conditions at this stadium. But the wicket did not have the complexion of being a typical Kotla pitch; with reasonable grass cover at the top making it seem like there will be something in it for the seamers, especially at the start of the day.
And Delhi’s openers proceeded with caution. For both Rana and Sangwan, one a natural aggressor, the other defensive, there were plenty of plays and misses in the first hour, including a close call for caught behind to rapturous appeals for each of them.
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But once the first over of spin arrived in the ninth over, assistance from the surface was virtually nullified, and Delhi’s batters went along building a huge score, left to their own devices regarding how long and how well they wish to bat.
Rana, under pressure for a spot in the XI with IPL star Priyansh Arya lurking, went into his natural attacking mode, gritting boundaries at every open opportunity he got. The scoring chances were exposed and blasted through during Dhull’s 66-ball 61, which included 11 boundaries. The once prodigal 24-year-old hit his first half century for Delhi after returning from surgery for a 17mm hole in his heart in the summer of last year.
His dismissal would be an affliction suffered by many of Delhi’s batters, and would see them miss out on a huge score. Dhull would be caught behind off a length ball from Arpit Guleria, mistiming a big heave on the off side. It was the same way Arpit Rana lost his wicket to Divesh Sharma right after lunch, and it was the same way Ayush Badoni would be caught at second slip when attempting a cut off a Guleria ball that caught the pace. Shortly after, Sangwan would lose his wicket when his glove glanced the ball on its way to the keeper while he attempted to duck out of a bouncer that didn’t quite rise as high in a bit of misfortune.
In extremely favourable conditions, against toothless bowling, Delhi’s batters only had themselves to blame for not notching up massive totals. However, after a 71-run unbeaten partnership for the fifth wicket between Doseja (who backed up his double hundred on debut with another 50+ score) and Sahil Mathur, they remain in control going into the second day.
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Brief Scores: Delhi 306/4 in 86 overs (Sangwan 79, Rana 64, Dhull 61; Divesh 2/42 vs Himachal Pradesh.
