Ranji Trophy: Karnataka put Delhi on backfoot

New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) Delhi’s chances of progressing in the Ranji Trophy dimmed further after they folded up for 202 against Karnataka on day one of the Group A match at the Feroz Shah Kotla here Monday.

The Delhi batting line-up found it tough against the opposition pace attack led by captain Vinay Kumar (4/40). The famed opening pair of Virender Sehwag (32) and Gautam Gambhir (54) gave the home team a blistering start but that turned out to be the lone bright spot of the innings lasting 67.4 overs.

Karnataka openers Mayank Aggarwal (2 not out) and Karun Nair (0 not out) could be in the middle only for an over owing to bad light.

Delhi, who are fifth in the group with 19 points, need an outright win to have any hopes of making the quarter-finals while pool leaders Karnataka have already qualified.

The pitch, which usually becomes the main talking point before any game at Kotla, played true to its low and slow nature. There was help for the bowlers when the play started in chilly conditions before the sun came out making the surface slower as the day progressed.

Sehwag’s cameo was easily the most exciting part of the day. He looked at ease against the pacers and hit five fours in total. The 35-year-old was set for his first big score of the season until he gave a return catch to Ronit More (1/33) trying to fend a short ball. He was pushed up the order after Unmukt Chand was dropped from the side.

Gambhir went on to bat till the 40th over with wickets falling regularly at the other end. His 111-ball effort ended after he poked at a H.S. Sharath (3/58) delivery, getting caught at slips.

Vinay Kumar reaped benefits of bowling straight as he castled the stumps thrice and had lower-order batsman Sumit Narwal (22) leg before wicket. He also removed the in-form Mithun Manhas (12).

Brief scores:

Group A

Karnataka 2 for 0 v Delhi 202 (Sehwag 32, Gambhir 54, Vinay 4-40) in Delhi

Odisha 221 for 9 (Rout 94, Amit Mishra 4-78) v Haryana in Bhubaneshwar

Punjab 380 for 4 (Vohra 187, Jiwanjot 78, Yuvraj 39) v Jharkhand in Dhanbad

Gujarat 90 for 2 v Mumbai 154 in Valsad

Group B

Tamil Nadu 66 for 6 v Bengal 130 (Rangarajan 6-30, Rahil 4-65) in Chennai

Railways 297 for 4 (Ghosh 85 not out, Rawat 83 not out) v Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow

Baroda 163 for 6 (Waghmode 79 not out, Irfan 8, Yusuf 1, Pankaj 4-60) v Rajasthan in Jaipur

Saurashtra 176 for 9 (Yashpal 5-41) v Services 72 (Makvana 6-17) in Rajkot

Group C

Maharashtra 343 for 8 (K. Jadhav 128) v Assam in Guwahati

Goa 58 for 2 v Andhra 148 (Amit Yadav 6-44) in Porvorim

Kerala 45 for 3 v Hyderabad 201 in Hyderabad

Tripura 176 for 3 (Takawale 82 not out) v Jammu & Kashmir in Agartala