Bengal strike late to put Delhi on the backfoot

KOLKATA: Bengal livened the battle for the first innings lead with a late comeback leaving Delhi ruing what could have been at stumps on the second day of this Group A Ranji Trophy match at Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.

Going swimmingly at 135/2 at tea, Delhi ended on 192/6 leaving Bengal left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed (2/11) on the brink of a second successive hattrick. Delhi’s hopes of overtaking Bengal’s first innings score of 318 rest on Jonty Sidhu (batting on 32) and the resilience their lower-order.

Delhi were turning the screws through No. 3 Shorey (65) and Nitish Rana (24) when Mukesh Kumar (2/57) struck, removing both in the space of 28 deliveries.

Shorey was driving Delhi — literally – into a position of strength. His first scoring shot was an on-driven four off Nilkantha Das; a misfield by Das at mid-on fetched the second boundary. In the same over, bowled by Kumar, Shorey cover-drove making it three boundaries in a score of 13. When Akash Deep bowled on his pad, Shorey smacked a boundary to square-leg. Another coverdrive, off Deep, took Shorey to 22 with his fifth boundary. There were six fours in his first 28 runs.

Having dismissed the last five Bengal wickets for 32 runs, Delhi had taken in their stride Kunal Chandela being yorked by Das and were scoring at nearly four an over at lunch. Then, Das (2/36) produced another yorker to get Hiten Dalal and leaving the opener rubbing his left foot.

Dalal’s fielding had got Delhi back --- with a one-hand throw running in from midwicket, he ran out Anustup Majumdar on 99 and caught Ahmed at deep square-leg on 46 --- and till he was out, it looked like he would extend his recent good run.

Brief Scores Bengal 318 all out (A Majumdar 99, S Goswami 59; Simarjeet 4/77). Delhi 192 for six (D Shorey 65).