Ranji Trophy: Pondicherry hand Delhi a nine-wicket drubbing | Cricket News

Delhi’s 2023-24 Ranji Trophy campaign started on the worst possible note. Pondicherry handed a nine-wicket drubbing to Delhi, only their second win while playing in the Ranji Trophy elite group.It was a formality for Pondicherry on a nippy Day 4 as Gourav Yadav and Abin Matthew removed Delhi’s overnight batsmen, Harsh Tyagi and Ishant Sharma, early as they folded for 145 runs in their second innings. Pondicherry needed 50 runs to win and chased down the total in 13.1 overs with nine wickets to spare.
Delhi failed to cross 150 runs in both of their innings. Delhi’s best batsman in both the innings was left-arm spinner Harsh Tyagi, who bats at No 8. Tyagi scored 34 and 28, respectively in both the innings.
Delhi’s openers, Yash Dhull and Lakshya Thareja, looked all at sea in both innings against the new ball. Dhull was batting way outside of the crease in both the innings to combat the swing but he forgot that he was playing at Kotla and not in Manchester. In both the innings, he was undone the seam-up deliveries.
Ayush Badoni and Hrithik Shokeen swung their bats like they were playing an IPL match, while the seasoned campaigners Vaibhav Rawal and Himmat Singh would not want to see replays of their dismissals.
If Delhi’s batting was poor, the bowling unit led Ishant Sharma, a veteran of 105 Tests, and Navdeep Saini, an India Test hopeful, looked ordinary on a surface where Pondicherry’s seamers ran riot. It was indeed a good toss to win for Pondicherry, and their bowlers made the most of it, but in Delhi’s second innings, the home team’s batting unit buckled under pressure and fell away like nine pins.
Delhi coach Devang Gandhi blamed his side for not being “tough enough.”
“The preparations were good. They played really well in all the departments and outplayed us. When they bowled in the first innings, the conditions were really good, it was a fresh wicket. So, they got a lot of help on the first day and they bowled in the right areas,” said the former Bengal batter-turned-coach.
“We should have been a little bit more tough. I think the idea should have been to play the spells out in the second innings. That’s where we lacked. Of course, it is a tough loss to swallow,” he added.
On a pitch where Pondicherry seamers Gourav Yadav, Saurabh Yadav and Abin Matthew picked up 20 wickets, Delhi’s most successful bowler was off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen, who picked four in the first innings. Ishant picked up one in the match, while Saini got two. The youngster Himanshu Chauhan was the most impressive among the three Delhi pacers. Pondicherry’s Gourav Yadav finished the match with a ten-wicket haul, while Abin Matthew bagged his maiden fifer.
“I think we could have handled them (Pondicherry bowlers) better. They bowled well, I’m not taking away any credits from them but we could have batted better than we did actually,” said Gandhi.
Delhi will travel to Jammu on Tuesday for their next round match against Jammu and Kashmir, starting from Friday.
Gandhi has made it clear that there will be few changes in the next match, with Ishant not available and Saini will join the India A squad.
“I think, Ishant (Sharma) is not available for the away games. We will have to see. There are youngsters in the squad. The selectors will be able to give you a better idea about who is going to replace them.
“We will have to come back with a stronger resolve, I feel. We can make some changes. At the moment, I’m not being able to tell you that but we need to show a lot of more character,” he said.
Brief Scores: Delhi: 148 & 145 (Harsh Tyagi 28; Abin Matthew 5/39, Gourav Yadav 3/49, Saurabh Yadav 2/43) vs Pondicherry: 51 for 1 (Akash Khargave 23; Himanshu Chauhan 1/1)