In the middle of an ordinary campaign in Ranji Trophy, former champion Delhi is looking to redeem itself.
Between losses to Pondicherry and Madhya Pradesh, a semi-cooked Delhi opened its account with a solitary point in a bad light-affected clash against Jammu and Kashmir. The fairytale escape-to-victory against Uttarakhand at Mohali has made the host feel a lot better ahead of its clash against table-topper Baroda, beginning at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Friday.
After four outings, with three to go, Baroda has 20 points to sixth-placed Delhi’s seven in Group D. Going by its playing strength and form, Delhi at best could be party spoiler and not a serious contender to go past the league stage.
Baroda, on the other hand, is aware that this is the best time to beat Delhi. If it succeeds in doing so, it will not only consolidate its place at the top but also significantly improve its chances of qualifying to the knockout phase.
Weather could prove a dampener this week. Snowfall in the higher reaches of the region, resulting in intermittent drizzle in the Capital, has brought down the temperatures to an unprecedented low for February. No wonder, the weather forecast suggests loss of playing time due to drizzle or poor visibility.
In these conditions, electing to bat after winning the toss appears an obvious decision. In the campaign-opener against Pondicherry, Delhi struggled after being asked to bat and since then, its batters have remained inconsistent.
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So far, Baroda’s pacers, barring Atit Sheth (16 wickets), have looked ordinary. Instead, off-spinner Mahesh Pithiya (20) and left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt (19) have had more success.
In contrast, Delhi’s pacer Himanshu Chauhan has taken 20 wickets in his debut season, followed by off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen (15) to emerge as the team’s two best performing bowlers.
Over all, Baroda’s in-form batting could prove decisive against Delhi’s thin bowling resources.
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