Dhruv Shorey picked up some fine lessons in batting and temperament from the time spent with Gautam Gambhir in the last three seasons.
Gambhir, while completing his 43rd first-class century in his farewell match, once again underlined his determination while Shorey, falling short of the century by two runs, wore a disappointed look but vowed to have learnt to value his wicket.
Delhi, resuming at 190 for one, with Gambhir (92) and Shorey (30) determined to complete the unfinished job, finished the day at 409 for seven in the Ranji Trophy match. “We could have done better but three points from this match should help,” said Shorey, leading the side in the absence of Nitish Rana.
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Delhi lost Gambhir early but Shorey was around to frustrate Andhra. “I was aware of my responsibility since I can count myself as a senior in the team now. We had some batsman who lacked the experience of first-class cricket but I must confess it was not easy to bat. I took my time for this very reason and learnt from Gautam. He batted exceptionally well,” said Shorey, who made 98 off 259 balls with six fours.
According to the Delhi captain, the ball “was doing a bit. I had to apply myself hard. Andhra was disciplined in its approach.”
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Left-arm spinner Manish Golamaru, who bowled his heart out for Andhra, gave credit to the opposition. “It is a mixed feeling. We were in a commanding position at one stage but some decisions and dropped catches did not help us. It was great bowling to Gambhir but I would have been happy to take his wicket. That was my goal before the match,” said Manish.
Andhra tested the Delhi middle order but the home team was well served by Vaibhav Rawal, Jonty Sidhu, Lalit Yadav and Anuj Rawat as Andhra conceded the first innings lead.
The scores
Andhra 1st innings: 390.
Delhi 1st innings: Gautam Gambhir c Bharat b Khan 112, Hiten Dalal c Prashanth b Manish 58, Dhruv Shorey c Jyothisaikrishna b Golamaru 98, Vaibhav Rawal c Bhui b Khan 33, Jonty Sidhu b Khan 30, Lalit Yadav lbw b Golamaru 29, Anuj Rawat c Bharat b Jyothisaikrishna 28, Shivank Vashisht (batting) 12, Subodh Bhati (batting) 1.
Extras (b-4, lb-2, w-2): 8.
Total (for seven wickets in 144 overs): 409.
Fall of wickets: 1-108, 2-221, 3-307, 4-310, 5-368, 6-370, 7-408.
Bowling: Ayyappa 13-2-53-0, Girinath 4-1-23-0, Manish 56-9-126-3, Shoaib 17-0-45-0, Karn 11-0-44-0, Prashanth 4-1-15-0, Bhui 1-0-3-0, Jyothisaikrishna 1-0-1-1.
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