New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) The crowd at Arun Jaitley Stadium on the second day was awaiting a Virat Kohli special, but they were treated to fantastic fifties by Delhi captain Ayush Badoni and all-rounder Sumit Mathur as the hosts took a 93-run lead after reaching 334/7 in 96 overs at stumps on Saturday.
On a day Kohli made just six in his return to the first-class competition after more than 12 years, Badoni treated the crowd to a superb show of batsmanship by making 99, laced with 12 fours and three towering sixes off coming just 77 balls. He also became the fourth batter of the ongoing round to be out in the 90s after Upendra Yadav, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinkya Rahane. On the other hand, Mathur was solid in staying at the crease for long while hitting seven fours to be unbeaten on 78 off 189 balls. The duo was also involved in a 133-run stand for the fifth wicket to bail Delhi out of trouble on a pitch that had started to show signs of variable bounce.
Day Two’s play began with Delhi surging ahead quickly, as Railways bowlers’ were not at their consistent best in their lines and lengths in the first 50 minutes. Though the bowlers drew some edges and were involved in some lbw shots, there were no rewards for them as Yash Dhull got three fours off Himanshu Sangwan. On the other hand, Sanat Sangwan, despite being edgy, got a couple of boundaries under his kitty, as he raised the fifty of his partnership with Dhull. But in the 24th over, was trapped lbw on 32 by Rahul Sharma, and it brought Kohli to the crease, with the crowd giving him a rousing reception.
Coming at four, Kohli was nervy and looked rusty before unfurling a powerful straight drive off Sangwan. But on the very next ball, Himanshu had the last laugh as his inswinger sent Kohli’s off-stump on a cartwheel ride, as he fell for six off 15 balls, with fans making a beeline to exit the stadium. Himanshu again sent an off-stump flying, this time of his surname namesake Sanat, and dismissed him for 30 off 81 balls. From there, Badoni and Mathur joined forces to share a counter-attacking fifth-wicket partnership worth 133 runs.
Captain Badoni was proactive at the crease – playing his square-of-the-wicket shots with soft hands while dancing down the pitch on certain occasions to hit T20-style lofts on both sides of the wicket. At times, he rocked back to pull and heave to get his fifty in just 34 balls till the time lunch arrived.
Post lunch, Badoni and Mathur brought up the century of their partnership, with the highlight being the former smacking spinner Ayan Chaudhari for two sixes and a four to take him to 99. But he couldn’t get his century as his attempt to slog-sweep off Karn Sharma resulted in him being caught by short fine leg. Even as 200 fans placed themselves near the right side of the Bishan Singh Bedi stand to cheer and have a glimpse of Kohli, who was sitting in the Delhi team’s balcony, Mathur marched forward to bring up his fifty and got support from wicketkeeper-batter Pranav Rajvanshi in stitching a 63-run partnership for the sixth wicket.
Shortly after Delhi got into the lead against Railways, Rajvanshi went for a cut-off Chaudhari, but the ball kept low and took out his off-stump. Shivam Sharma, though, hit a brace of boundaries off Chaudhari to bring up Delhi’s 300. But after being dropped on 10, Shivam was dismissed for 14 when wicketkeeper Upendra Yadav leapt to his right to take a catch off Kunal’s bowling. From there, Mathur and Siddhant Sharma (15 not out) hung around to ensure Delhi didn’t suffer any more damage till stumps were called.
Brief scores: Railways 241 trail Delhi 334/7 in 96 overs (Ayush Badoni 99, Sumit Mathur 78 not out; Himanshu Sangwan 2-46, Kunal Yadav 2-82) by 93 runs
–IANS
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