Madan Lal being pushed to coach Delhi Ranji team

Sorry guys, was away for a while. But yeah, I have got back and with lots of news. Recent reports coming out of the Delhi and District Cricket Association suggests that the new sports committee has been demanding the head of Delhi Ranji Trophy team coach Sanjeev Sharma, the former India cricketer who couldn’t lead Delhi through to the knockouts. They want to bring in Madan Lal, the 1983 World Cup star, who had lost in the recent DDCA elections. Interestingly, Maddipa as Lal is popularly known in cricketing circles had shown disinterest in coaching. During the new sports committee’s inauguration, Maddipa took the initiative to speak and said he doesn’t want any job from the DDCA. So, has he changed his stance or he is being pushed into the hot seat. Of course, he is free from major responsibilities these days as he has lost the elections.

Gambhir & Co give Kotla pitch the boot

It seems even the Delhi Ranji team has ditched the Ferozeshah Kotla pitch. A desperate Delhi team management, looking for an outright win, has forced their fourth round Ranji trophy match to be shifted to Roshanara grounds from the Ferozeshah Kotla. “Skipper Gautam Gambhir and the team thinktank have insisted the game be played at the Roshanara ground instead of the Kotla. We have to do it as we want to make the team comfortable,” said DDCA vice-president Chetan Chauhan.

Delhi’s first game against Jharkhand, where they were favourites, was washed out and they conceded points in the second round game against Gujarat. It has been learnt that the team isn’t happy with the dead Kotla track and want an outright win against Haryana to stay in contention. Hence they want to play at Roshanara, where the pitch supports the seamers a lot. The match begins on November 21.

Delhi ‘A’ take points after a tame draw in CK Nayudu

It was not the most ideal of finishes for Delhi U-25 but they would happily go to Orissa for their next match with the result. After having taken the first-innings lead and earned point on Sunday, Delhi extended it further to 89 and crossed the 400-run mark. Rahul Yadav ground out a vital 44 not out while last man Sunny Sehrawat made 32. The duo put on 60 for the last wicket and almost ensured that they didn’t have to bat again and face a target. Uttar Pradesh, having lost points went all out against a complacent Delhi who were more interested in completing the formalities than taking further initiative. At the end, UP were 266 for 2 with the openers putting on 141. Former India Under-19 star Aksh Deep Nath made a blazing 95 while DP Rawat made a steady hundred. Interestingly, Delhi’s strike bowlers Sunny Sehrawat and Shelly Shaurya bowled just nine of the 62.4 that were bowled, preferring to rest their bodies.

Scores

Uttar Pradesh ‘A’ 315 & 266/2 (DP Rawat 103, AD Nath 95), Delhi 404 (Dhruv Shorey 120, Mohit Sharma 66, Rahul Yadav 44*, SRC Kumar 4/107)

Delhi U-19 lose to Bengal in semifinals, crash out of Vinoo Mankad

In what turned out to be anti-climax, Delhi U-19 were thrashed by Bengal Colts in the semifinals of the Vinoo Mankad one-dayers by 99 runs. Delhi boys succumbed under the pressure of a big total set by Bengal while batting first. Bengal put up 271 for seven while Delhi were dismissed for just 172 in 38.1 overs. Delhi were struggling at 93 for seven but PS Vijayran’s 59 off 55 balls gave them respectability. Delhi began well, scoring 42 off 6.1 overs, before falling apart.

Scores

Bengal U-19 271/7 in 50 overs (SS Ghosh 54, A Keshri 52) beat Delhi U-19 by 172 in 38.1 overs (PS Vijayran 59, Sarthak Ranjan 30, P Chakraborty 3/33)

Sehwag, Gambhir fail to get going as Delhi manage one point

For the second successive time in Delhi’s second round Ranji Trophy match against Gujarat at Surat, Virender Sehwag failed with the bat while Gautam Gambhir’s grind couldn’t get him a big score. It was the most apt setting for Virender Sehwag. A day back, assistant coach Bantu Singh had said that the circumstance Delhi found themselves in was ideal for a Sehwag special. Delhi had to get the hosts, who were 89/4 overnight, quickly. They couldn’t manage to get Gujarat soon enough, but the target of 257 runs in 47 overs was still gettable. However, after Unmukt Chand fell for a duck, Sehwag came in with a positive intent. His 18-ball 15 had one four before he fell to a soft dismissal yet again. He tried to venture out of the crease but the ball from left-arm spinner Akshar Patel beat him and he was stumped by Parthiv Patel. In the first innings, Sehwag had holed out to mid-on, the ball hitting the bottom of his bat. Once Sehwag was gone, Delhi’s chances of a win were gone. Gambhir and Manhas then batted to save the game before the Delhi skipper was dismissed for 44, out leg before. Soon after, stumps were drawn. Delhi were 100/3 in 32 overs. Gujarat got three points on first innings while Delhi took home one. Delhi play Mumbai in Mumbai in the next round. Earlier, a lion-hearted effort from bowlers – Sumit Narwal (3), Vikas Mishra (4) and Parvinder Awana (2) helped Delhi dismiss Gujarat for 231.

Scores

Gujarat 320 & 231 (Parthiv Patel 56, Vikas Mishra 4/83, Sumit Narwal 3/42, Parvinder Awana 2/34) vs Delhi 295 & 100/3 (Gautam Gambhir 44, Virender Sehwag 15, Mithun Manhas 32*)

Dhruv Shorey hits a ton, with Mohit & Nagar help Delhi ‘A’ take lead

Finally, the Delhi U-25 team showed some spine. The team, which is playing Uttar Pradesh in a second round match in the Col CK Nayudu Trophy in Moradabad, managed to take a slender lead and guarantee points on first innings after the third day’s play. The hero of the day was left-handed batsman Dhruv Shorey, who made 120 to lead a fightback and stitched a crucial fourth partnership of 85 runs with Yogesh Nagar who made 45. Nagar, a Ranji Trophy player, had been left out of the first game but was drafted in for this game. The partnership helped Delhi tide over a shaky situation and carried them from 142/3 to 227/4 and within striking distance of the UP total of 315. The partnership may have taken them further but for an unlucky run out, when a straight drive from Shorey brushed the bowler’s hands and hit the stumps catching Nagar short. “The ball was turning so I had to be patient. Otherwise things went smoothly. Yogesh bhaiyya was a bit unlucky to get out that way,” said Shorey after the day’s play. Earlier, resuming at 6 for 1, Mohit Sharma, who was brought to this squad from the Ranji squad, had given them a solid start by making 66. There were steady partnerships that helped Delhi throughout. There was a minor stutter when Shorey was out with the team score at 287. From 287/5 they were reduced to 312 for 8. But skipper Shelly Shaurya and Rahul Yadav saw them through to 344 before Shaurya was dismissed. Monday is the final day of the match.

Scores

Uttar Pradesh U-25 320 vs Delhi U-25 344/9 (Dhruv Shorey 120, Yogesh Nagar 45, Mohit Sharma 66, SRC Kumar 4/88)

Manhas, Manan to rescue after Viru, Gauti fail as Delhi concede 25-run lead

Both former India openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir flopped as Delhi conceded a lead of 25 runs against Gujarat in their Ranji Trophy second round match in Surat. Coming in at second down, Sehwag could make just one off 4 balls. Skipper Gambhir ground out a 31 off 79 balls with four fours as the visitors were saved by Mithun Manhas’s hundred (104) and young all-rounder Manan Sharma’s 64. The two put on 153 for the fifth wicket after their side was struggling at 49/4. Ashish Nehra’s late, lusty hits gave Delhi 37 runs as they managed to close in on Gujarat total on the third day. Left-arm spinner Akshar Patel took six wickets for the hosts. However, Sumit Narwal, who took a fifer in the first innings, took a couple of wickets while Vikas Mishra and Parvinder Awana took one each to reduce Gujarat to 47/4 in the second innings to keep Delhi afloat. Parthiv Patel and Venugopal Rao then stitched a partnership to take Gujarat to 89/4 by stumps. Delhi are behind by 114 runs.

Scores

Gujarat 320 & 89/4 (Parthiv Patel batting 28, Venugopal Rao batting 24, Sumit Narwal 2/15, Vikas Mishra 1/36, Parvinder Awana 1/11) lead Delhi 295 (Mithun Manhas 107, Manan Sharma 64, Virender Sehwag 1, Gautam Gambhir 31, Ashish Nehra 37, Akshar Patel 6/55) by 114 runs.