Bengal bowlers to test Delhi batsmen
PUNE: Mohammed Shami’s guile coupled with Ashok Dinda’s consistency will be countered by Gautam Gambhir’s experience and Rishabh Pant’s exuberance when Bengal square off with Delhi in a Ranji Trophy semi-final here on Sunday.
The match can be safely termed a fight between one of the most potent domestic new-ball attacks in the country and a batting line-up that has players who can win matches on their own on a given day.
An encouraging piece of statistic for Bengal is that they have never ever conceded a first-innings lead against Delhi from 2009-10 season. And not to forget the bitter-sweet relation between Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary and Gambhir, who have had their share of run-ins in the past.
India’s craftiest red ball bowler Shami will get some serious match time against Gambhir, who has been there and done that for Delhi on numerous occasions.
At 36 and with no realistic chance of playing for India again, Gambhir remains an intense cricketer, who has notched up 505 runs this season so far.
Dinda, a domestic workhorse, can bowl long spells and hit the same length over after over while young Delhi captain Pant (261 in 5 games), who has slightly fallen off the selectors’ radar, will be trying to prove a point with his cavalier batting approach.
Young guns Nitish Rana (515 runs), Dhruv Shorey (374 in 7 games), Himmat Singh (215 in 3 games)and Kunal Chandela (202 in 2 games) --- a university cricket product -- have all shown prom- ise.
In the bowling, left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra (31 wickets) has made a good comeback in firstclass while Navdeep Saini’s (22 wickets) exploits with new and old ball is now well-known in domestic circuit.
For Bengal, the presence of another Test regular Wriddhiman Saha, who is a domestic giant, makes it for an exciting contest.