Delhi seamers wreck Gujarat

HAPPY BUNCH: Delhi's Pawan Suyal celebrates with his teammates after his four-wicket haul.

The seaming track at the Ferozeshah Kotla was a pleasant change from the placid pitches that have come in for scathing criticism in the past.

It must have shocked Gujarat which elected to bat but lasted a mere 23.4 overs on the opening day of its Ranji Tropy superleague match against Delhi here on Wednesday. The home team was 39 for no loss when bad light stopped play and rain prevented any further action.

The lunch break was spent brooding by the Gujarat camp. The team's consultant, Aunshuman Gaekwad, former India opener and coach, missed the Gujarat innings by the time he flew in from Mumbai on Wednesday morning. Sadly, not one Gujarat batsman applied himself to the job the way Gaekwad was known to in his heyday!

Batsmen after batsmen succumbed to indiscretion on a misty morning. There was nip in the air and the gentle breeze caused enough movement as Pawan Suyal, Pradeep Sangwan and Sumit Narwal played havoc with the Gujarat batting.

“It was a very good pitch, with lot of pace and carry. The weather contributed to the swing too,” said curator Venkat Sundaram.

Barring Niraj Patel, none had the answer to counter Delhi's inspired seam attack. The batsmen made the mistake of trying to reach for the ball and in the process fell into the trap.

Gujarat had made a complete mess of its innings and Delhi enjoyed the advantage by making a confident start. The Delhi dressing room had a surprise visitor in Virender Sehwag, who shared some precious moments with the team.

The scores: Gujarat — 1st innings: Jay Desai lbw b Pawan Suyal 0, Priyank Panchal c Bisht b Narwal 1, Niraj Patel b Sangwan 21, Parthiv Patel c Bisht b Sangwan 8, Bhavik Thakar lbw b Sangwan 1, Prathmesh Parmar c Bisht b Suyal 12, Rohit Dahiya c Bisht b Suyal 12, Salil Yadav (not out) 5, Siddharth Trivedi c Kohli b Suyal 0, Jayesh Makla c Bisht b Narwal 1, Ishwar Chaudhary lbw b Narwal 4; Extras (b-5, w-1): 6; Total: (in 23.4 overs) 71.

Fall of wicket: 1-1, 2-5, 3-26, 4-35, 5-46, 6-60, 7-61, 8-61, 9-67.

Delhi bowling: Sumit Narwal 9.4-6-23-3, Pawan Suyal 7-1-27-4, Pradeep Sangwan 7-3-16-3.

Delhi_— 1st innings: Shikhar Dhawan (batting) 24, Unmukt Chand (batting) 15; Total: (for no loss in nine overs) 39.

Gujarat bowling: Trivedi 5-3-10-0, Chaudhary 4-0-29-0.