Delhi win by 5 wickets to knock Jharkhand out

There was no brutal assault with the bat, nor a fiery bowling display. Yet, sans the fancy, Delhi outplayed Jharkhand in a one-sided affair. Fortunately for Jharkhand, who have been eliminated from the tournament by virtue of their second defeat in the Super League phase, the final scorecard will not provide an ample assessment of the match. But the way the two teams put up their respective showcase of cricket, it seemed that Delhi had chosen, like in a video game, an amateur opposition. In the end, Delhi won their first match of the Super League phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy by five wickets on Saturday (January 16).

The only period of play when Jharkhand looked in a better position came when Delhi were pegged back by three early wickets. Chasing a target of 135, Varun Aaron's extra pace undid Unmukt Chand (3), who mistimed a pull and gave an easy catch at mid-wicket to Rahul Shukla, and Subodh Bhati (1), who failed to get his bat down on time.

However, once Dhruv Shorey (30) was joined by Nitish Rana (60 not out) in the middle, Jharkhand couldn't sniff victory even from a distance. They provided enough chances, Rana offering two sitters, but Jharkhand fielders weren't willing to accept those. In a way, they allowed Delhi batsmen to score freely and reach the target with two overs to spare. Rana, who was unbeaten, also put on an unbeaten 40-run stand for the sixth wicket with Pawan Negi (24 not out).

Earlier in the day, Gautam Gambhir, Delhi skipper won the toss and elected to field, a template that every team has followed in the Super League phase so far. The morning conditions helped the pacers get some movement. Navdeep Saini, was especially impressive, conceding just eight runs off his first three overs, apart from accounting for the wicket of Sumit Kumar (1).

By the end of ninth over, Jharkhand were tottering at 46 for 3, before the fourth-wicket pair of Virat Singh (45) and Ishank Jaggi (42) put on 62 runs to steady the innings. Manan Sharma bagged two wickets off the last two deliveries of his spell to break the partnership and put Delhi back in command. On either ends of the stand, wickets tumbled at regular intervals and the scoring rate was restricted. Despite Manan, left-arm spinner, getting good assistance from the wicket, Negi wasn't brought on to bowl.

Parvinder Awana grabbed two wickets - Jaggi and Shasheem (5), who walked out to bat at no. 7, in his final over to arrest any chances of late blows by Jharkhand, who eventually finished at 134-7.

While Delhi will face Uttar Pradesh in a must-win encounter on Monday, Jharkhand have only pride to play for when they take on defending champions Gujarat at the Bandra-Kurla Complex Ground in Mumbai.

Brief Scores: Jharkhand 134 for 7 in 20 overs (Virat Singh 45, Ishank Jaggi 42; Parvinder Awana 3-28, Manan Sharma 2-28) lost to Delhi 138 for 5 in 18 overs (Nitish Rana 60*, Dhruv Shorey 30; Varun Aaron 3-27, Kaushal Singh 1-11) by 5 wickets.