Field day for Delhi |
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Thursday January 4, 02:41 AM
An hour to go into the second day's play, the Delhi players were in a huddle discussing the ways and means to cut through the opposition middle-order that carried sacks of runs this season.
L N Prasad Reddy was still hanging out there with 35 to swell his season's tally to 462 when stumps were drawn, but Andhra need some greater application and consolidation from the remaining batsmen to reach 206 - the follow-on mark - as the hosts reached 92/4 on Day Two in reply to Delhi's 355.
Delhi's seam attack came out sizzling on the day with the new ball and their plans worked to near perfection. There were no extended slip cordons, but a tight off-stump field with men standing behind and in front of stumps made Ishant Sharma and Amit Bhandari consciously try and bring the new ball in and occasionally shape out. Ishant was quick, managing to extract bounce and carry while Bhandari, looking a lot more confident and in rhythm in his second match after a shoulder surgery, was penetrative with appreciable off-the-wicket movement.
Ishant made the first breakthrough by uprooting the middle stump of Manoj Sai and soon Rajat, who has become a dependable third seamer, made an impact first ball by latching on to a sharp caught-and-bowled chance offered by ASK Varma. At 2/20, Delhi had managed to break in but the telling blow came when Ishant switched ends and came in for his second short burst.
The lanky seamer got another one to cut back sharply and hit Venugopala Rao on his thigh. The latter wasn't happy as the umpire raised his finger in agreement with the appeal - the danger man was gone and the belief of playing the mathematical 'qualification game' set in the Delhi camp.
It was Bhandari's turn then to extract his reward off a nagging spell. Coming in for a second spell, he was able to get the ball to reverse and catch MSK Prasad on his pads half-cock as the batsman tried to go for the drive.
Four down and Andhra's score read 45, but Prasad Reddy and LN Prasad hung on, playing and missing on most occasions as Suhail Sharma, the specialist off-spinner got into the act. But he went without any reward after a tight spell.
Andhra's collapse overshadowed a seemingly similar Delhi collapse early morning. Mayank Tehlan, batting overnight on 91, raced to his second first-class ton with two cover drives in succession before getting out at 109 to a debatable bat-pad decision. His overnight partner Aditya Jain, who scored a responsible and authoritative 72, was the last man out. Jain, playing his first match of the season and second overall, was elegantly wristy as he subtly flicked the turning ball and swept with defiance against a pre-dominantly onside trap.
He emerged victorious in an interesting battle against Mohd Faiq, but the seasoned Andhra offie had the last laugh by bringing the curtains down on Delhi's innings with his fourth five-wicket haul. He kept the batsmen on leash, wisely varying his line of attack from outside the off to leg and middle. The umpires were gracious in gifting the ball to Faiq, but being considered a serious bat Andhra would want him to wield his willow equally effectively.
Meanwhile, Delhi off-spinner Suhail Sharma, playing his second Ranji match, was reported by the two on-field umpires for improper conduct and showing dissent after he was declared out for a first-ball duck. Match referee Anil Patel called him along with skipper Mitthun Manhas for a hearing after the end of second day's play, seeking an explanation. A verdict on the matter is expected towards the end of the match.
Brief scores: Delhi 355 all out in 130.1 overs (Mayank Tehlan 109, Aditya Jain 72, Mitthun Manhas 42; Mohd Faiq 5/115, Lakshman Kishore 3/62, D Kalyan Krishna 2/36) vs Andhra 92/4 (LN Prasad Reddy 35 not out, Ishant 2/25).
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