The much expected ‘life’ in the pitch - owing to its green look - evaporated quickly as did Delhi's hopes which had hoped to exploit the conditions after winning the toss against Uttar Pradesh (UP) on the opening day of its Ranji Trophy fixture at the Palam ground on Wednesday.
UP saw the day through at 270 for eight, even as Delhi, with its line up of medium pacers in operation for long, struggled to meet the daily quota of 90 overs despite an additional 30 minutes of play.
Skipper Ishant Sharma tried his best and was rewarded late in the day with two wickets, but a defiant 83 by Mohammed Saif and his 116-run partnership for the third wicket with Akshdeep Nath (59) helped UP consolidate its gains.
The left-handed Saif tried to up the ante after UP captain Suresh Raina was bowled trying to cut a ball that kept low. Saif took the attack to the opposition before a direct throw from Navdeep Amarjeet Saini found him short of his crease. Saif hit 14 fours and a six in his 169-ball knock which saw him retire into the pavilion owing to an arm injury - albeit briefly.
Saini draws first blood
It was Navdeep Saini who drew first blood for Delhi by having Almas Shaukat caught in the slip by Unmukt Chand. Ishant and Saini took two wickets each, while Manan Sharma, Kulwant Khejroliya, and Milind Kumar accounted for the remaining four.
At the end of day's play, just when UP looked to be folding up, Upendra Yadav mustered a defiant, unbeaten 48 off 82 balls to keep the team’s hopes of crossing 300 alive.
With the ball keeping low at one end and offering a bit of lift at the other, Delhi was clear about operating its medium pacers and spinners. However, it should be interesting to see how well it shapes up when play resumes tomorrow morning.
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