Delhi lose by an innings & 35 runs against Gujarat

Valsad: Even skipper Mithun Manhas` 20th first-class century wasn`t enough to save Delhi from the ignominy of an innings defeat against Gujarat in an Elite Group Ranji Trophy encounter on Sunday.

Gujarat won by an innings and 35 runs and more importantly dented the morale of a team that already lacks quality to make it to the next level of the national championships. There was a sense of inevitability about the humiliation that Delhi faced but the question was whether they can fight out of their skin to atleast get a point. Starting the day at 170 for five, Delhi could merely add another 82 runs before they were all out for 252 in 81.3 overs. They could resist the inevitable for only 30.3 overs. If one takes away the scores of Manhas and Dhawan which totals to 180 and extras being 6 runs, the rest of the nine batsmen managed only 66 runs between them. Off the 82 runs scored today, Manhas scored 53 of them as he scored 103 before jumping out to offie Jesal Karia and was stumped by Parthiv Patel. He was the eighth batsman gone. The only hope in the morning session was Manhas and the other senior player Rajat Bhatia who came after overnight batsman Pradeep Sangwan was dismissed by leg-spinner Salil Yadav. Rajat (10) and Mithun batted for 11 overs and raised visions of Delhi atleast stealing a point but the former was caught by Pratharesh Parmar off Faisal Dudhat`s bowling. With bowling lacking depth and batsmen not really applying themselves on a pitch that was considered good for batting, it will be an onerous task for Manhas and Co to get their campaign back on track. Brief Scores: Gujarat 520. Delhi 233 & 252 (Mithun Manhas 103, Shikhar Dhawan 77, I Chaudhary 3/55, J Karia 3/27). Points: Gujarat 6 Delhi 0. PTI