Ranji Trophy: Tamil Nadu bowlers dismiss Delhi for 212

New Delhi: Delhi batsmen continued their dismal show with the willow as the hosts were dismissed for 212 against Tamil Nadu in a third round Ranji Trophy Elite Group match at Feroz Shah Kotla.

Debutant pacer Jagannathan Kaushik (3/41), skipper Laxmipathy Balaji (3/42) and left-arm spinner R Aushik Srinivas (3/48) shared the spoils for Tamil Nadu with only opener Unmukt Chand (86, 152 balls, 14x4, 1x6) and Yogesh Nagar (59, 142 balls, 4x4, 2x6) making significant contribution for the hosts. In seven overs that they batted, Tamil Nadu were eight without loss. In the post-tea session, Delhi batsmen suddenly went into a shell as they lost five wickets scoring only 26 runs in 21 overs. The pitch had a fair amount of grass but according to Delhi captain Mithun Manhas the look of it was "deceiving as the ball was not coming onto the bat after a point of time." Shikhar Dhawan started with an expansive boundary and then played a flashy shot off Balaji in the very first over which was snapped by K Vasudevadas in the gully. Unmukt on the otherhand was edgy to begin with but played a few good shots in between. Milind Kumar (16, 46 balls, 2x4) was never comfortable to begin with and was castled by an incoming delivery from V Yomahesh (1/40). Skipper Mithun Manhas (21) fresh from his century in his 100th first-class match started well as Unmukt frew in confidence. He completed his fourth half century in first-class when he first hit Aushik over cover for a six, followed by a boundary. The post-lunch session started with Manhas`s dismissal as he tried to cut a Srinivas delivery with very little room to execute the shot. The result was a catch for Vasudevadas in the first slip. PTI