The Ferozeshah Kotla track was again in focus for not so flattering reasons. With the toss dictating the terms, the course of the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarterfinal match between Delhi and Railways on Wednesday turned out to be another dull and predictable affair.
In fact, barring some statistical variations, Delhi's convincing seven-wicket win over Railways was similar in many aspects to that of the last-eight engagement between Mumbai and Karnataka the previous day.
On a pitch that changed its nature too soon, the host, which won the toss, did not have any hesitation in putting the opposition in and restricting it to 175. With batting becoming easier in the second half, the home team did not have any problem in overhauling the modest target with more than 12 overs to spare.
In the semifinals, Delhi will meet Mumbai on Saturday.
In favourable morning conditions, the pace duo of Parvinder Awana and Pawan Suyal derived the maximum benefit of the strip in the middle. They bowled with a lot of enthusiasm and control to deliver quick blows on Railways.
Railways batsmen found it difficult to negotiate with the movement of the new balls. Awana, who extracted good bounce and bowled with discipline, provided the breakthrough for Delhi as Gautam Gambhir nicely caught a dipping ball off a Shivakant Shukla's ill-timed pull.
Suyal then knocked off Amit Paunikar's off-stump and rapped the pads of Sanjay Bangar, who erred in playing back, to leave the visitors in a spot of bother.
Railways tottered at 56 for six despite a brief spell of defiance from Mahesh Rawat (22). However, a gritty innings by left-hander Ashish Yadav (59, 79b, 5x4, 1x6) and his 52-run seventh wicket stand off 86 balls with Dhiren Salvi (26, 43b, 3x4) provided some respect to the team's aggregate.
Yadav, let off on two by Shikhar Dhawan at first slip, held one end intact and found the gaps for some fine boundaries. He guided the lower order batsmen well before becoming the last Railways to fall.
Delhi skipper Rajat Bhatia was effective with his gentle medium pace and captured three important wickets.
The run-chase was a cakewalk for Delhi. Dhawan and Mohit Sharma (36, 64b, 4x4) played watchfully to garner 97 runs for the opening stand. Gautam Gambhir (34 not out, 57b, 3x4) and the following batsmen completed the formalities comfortably.
Dhawan, who switched from caution to aggression, played some impressive shots. He reached his half-century through a lusty six over long-on off Shailendra Gehlot's bowling.
“My plan was to stay in the middle and then score runs,” said Dhawan. He admitted that the pitch was quite favourable to the Delhi bowlers in the morning session.
Railways coach Abhay Sharma said the track was “not suitable for one-day cricket.”
“Winning the toss becomes such a crucial factor on such a pitch. I think players like Robin Uthappa and Wasim Jaffer have also pointed this out,” added Abhay.
The scores:
Railways: Shivakant Shukla c Gambhir b Awana 1, Amit Paunikar b Suyal 12, Faiz Fazal b Bhatia 12, Sanjay Bangar lbw b Suyal 0, Mahesh Rawat lbw b Sangwan 22, Rajesh Bishnoi c&b Bhatia 4, Ashish Yadav c Mohit b Sangwan 59, Dhiren Salvi c Gambhir b Bhatia 26, K.K. Upadhyaya b Awana 11, Anureet Singh lbw b Manhas 7, Shailendra Gehlot (not out) 12, Extras (lb-2, wd-7) 9, Total (in 49.1 overs) 175.
Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-15, 3-15, 4-51, 5-55, 6-56, 7-108, 8-130, 9-149.
Delhi bowling: Parvinder Awana 10-5-20-2, Pawan Suyal 10-2-36-2, Rajat Bhatia 10-0-30-3, Pradeep Sangwan 9.1-0-40-2, Varun Sood 6-0-27-0, Pawan Negi 1-0-7-0, Mithun Manhas 3-0-13-1.
Delhi: Mohit Sharma st. Rawat b Shukla 36, Shikhar Dhawan (run out) 69, Gautam Gambhir (not out) 34, Mithun Manhas c Fazal b Bangar 21, Punit Bisht (not out) 10, Extras (lb-4, wd-4) 8, Total (for three wkts, 37.4 overs) 178.
Fall of wickets: 1-97, 2-121, 3-156.
Railways bowling: Shailendra Gehlot 10-0-50-0, Krishnakant Upadhyaya 6.4-0-41-0, Anureet Singh 10-0-30-0, Sanjay Bangar 7-0-31-1, Shivakant Shukla 4-0-22-1.
