Despite an enterprising century by opening batsman Gautam Gambhir, Delhi were precariously placed against Mumbai at the end of third day in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'A' league match at the Jamia Millia Islamia University grounds in Delhi on Monday.
Gambhir made up for the disappointment of falling four runs short of hundred in the first innings by scoring a brisk 105 from 153 balls.
But the hosts, having conceded a 40-run first innings lead in the morning, failed to make the most of the left-hander's good work and were 223 for 9 at close on the penultimate day -- effectively 183 ahead of Mumbai.
The domination of the slow bowlers in the match continued with left arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni claiming four for 76 and captain and leg spinner Sairaj Bahutule bagging three for 76.
Earlier, resuming at 183 for 8, the visitors managed to go past Delhi's 199 in the first essay with the help of a determined half century from middle order batsman Bhavin Thakker.
The right-hander (71 not out, 221 balls, 282 minutes) enjoyed solid support from his overnight partner Nilesh Kulkarni, who helped add 29 crucial runs for the ninth wicket.
Given the trend of the match so far, it would not be a suprise if Delhi can salvage a draw, or even win. But their batsmen let themselves down today, and the inability to learn from the experience of the first day made their failure even more shameful.
Aakash Chopra (24) seemed to be in good nick in the beginning. When he stepped out and lofted Kulkarni over long on with a checked drive, the right-hander showed the confidence stemming from being included for the Australia tour.
But two overs later, Chopra committed a ghastly crime when he opted for a wild swipe against the same bowler and was bowled around his legs.
Salil Oberoi (12) got a raw deal from Tamil Nadu umpire Laxmanan, who ruled him run-out. Vinayak Mane, at silly point, attempted to throw down the stumps before Oberoi could get back to the crease. The batsman however brought his bat down well in time before the keeper could whip the bails off, but to his horror found the square leg umpire raising the finger up.
Skipper Mithun Manhas (13) did not stay long but Ajay Jadeja (31, 65b, 71m) showed the experience and guts to take on the Mumbai bowling. His well-timed drives and placements from sweep shots thwarted the spinners but just when the
partnership was threatening to take the match away from the visitors came an unnecessary run-out.
Gambhir might have been a bit too anxious to call for a second after pushing Kulkarni to long on, but his partner too might have lacked the speed to beat the throw from Mane.
But Gambhir, with a 96 in the first innings and a 147 in the first match against Uttar Pradesh in Kanpur, batted with a vengeance. A few salty comments from Vinod Kambli only fuelled the fire in him further.
His innings, however, came to an ironic end, caught by Kambli at long-on, off Kulkarni.
Rajat Bhatia and the rest of the batsmen were guilty of wrong shot selection.
Scoreboard:
Delhi 1st innings: 199
Mumbai 1st innings:
V Mane c Gambhir b Sanghvi 52
W Jaffer c Manhas b S Singh 24
R Morris c sub (V Kumar) b Sanghvi 2
A Muzumdar c LBW b S Singh 12
V Kambli b S Singh 9
B Thakker not out 71
S Bahutule c sub (V Kumar) b S Singh 1
R Powar c Manhas b Sanghvi 9
V Samant lbw b Nehra 29
N Kulkarni c Manhas b S Singh 7
M Patel c Manhas b Sanghvi 11
Extras: (lb-4, nb-8) 12
Total: (all out in 106.4 overs) 239
Fall of wickets: 1-49, 2-56, 3-79, 4-93, 5-110, 6-115, 7-128, 8-182, 9-221.
Bowling: Ashish Nehra 22-8-41-1, Sarandeep Singh 47-8-107-5, Rajat Bhatia 3-1-6-0, Rahul Sanghvi 31.4-4-72-4, Mithun Manhas 2-1-5-0, Gautam Gambhir 1-0-4-0.
Delhi (2nd innings):
A Chopra b Kulkarni 28
G Gambhir c Kambli b Kulkarni 105
S Oberoi run out 12
M Manhas c Jaffer b Bahutule 13
A Jadeja run out 31
R Bhatia b Bahutule 0
V Dahiya c Powar b Bahutule 9
S Singh st Samant b Kulkarni 4
R Sanghvi b Kulkarni 3
A Nehra batting 1
A Bhandari batting 0
Extras: (b-2, lb-7, nb-8) 17
Total: (for 9 wickets in 67.4 overs) 223
Fall of wickets: 1-59, 2-85, 3-127, 4-194, 5-195, 6-206, 7-217, 8-222, 9-223.
Bowling: Munaf Patel 6-2-24-0, Robin Morris 4-1-6-0, Nilesh Kulkarni 23.4-3-76-4, Sairaj Bahutule 24-3-76-3, Ramesh Powar 10-1-32-0.
