Desperate Delhi seek to better Mumbai

Desperate Delhi seek to better Mumbai
VIKRANT GUPTA

NEW DELHI, FEB 23: A Delhi-Mumbai face-off in the qualification race is something nobody would have foreseen till about a few years ago. For all the players coming and going, these teams were used to crossing swords only in the title clash.

Even as the Ranji Trophy Super League Group A jigsaw puzzle is taking time to unfold, the hosts will be faced with the Russian Roulette-type situation in the four-day tie which starts here Wednesday. At eight points from two games in this group of death, it's sink or swim for them.

Mumbai arrived here with an outright win (and eight points) over defending champions Karnataka in their only game so far, hence the pressure would be less on them. But three of their stalwarts -- Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffer and Ajit Agarkar -- are on India duty.

What could be crucial though is the greentop pitch the hosts are banking on. ``We want a result. Doesn't matter if it's this way or that way,'' felt Delhi coach Manninder Jaggi. His confidence would be boosted by the return of the right-left arm pace duo of Amit Bhandari and Ashish Nehra to the playing eleven.

It was Bhandari who combined with fast bowler Robin Singh (Jr) to give Delhi the solace of five points over Rajasthan in their first game. The selection in the Board President's XI for the tie against the South Africans ruled him out of the second game against Bengal last week. Nehra is coming to full fitness after his ankle injury.

If Delhi are still alive in the competition, they owe a lot to the lower half for their stubborn resistance to Bengal's bid for an outright win over them. It's time the top order came out of skipper Ajay Sharma's shadows. Everytime the veteran fails to come good, the others simply go into their shells which deters the side's progress.

Mumbai appear solid. The strokemaking southpaws Vinod Kambli and Amit Pagnis, the grafters Amol Muzumdar and Jatin Pranjape and the experienced skipper Sameer Dighe prop the batting. On the bowling front, pace will be handled by the recalled seamer Abhey Kuruvilla and the exciting youngster Santosh Saxena and Rajesh Pawar, Nilesh Kulkarni and Sairaj Bahatule hold the spinning aces.

Teams (from)

Delhi: Ajay Sharma (capt), Akash Chopra, Ashu Dani, Davender Sharma, Mithun Manhas, Vijay Dahiya, Virender Sehwag, Amit Bhandari, Rahul Sanghvi, Ashish Nehra, Robin Singh (Jr), Harinder Choudhury.

Mumbai: Sameer Dighe (capt), Amit Pagnis, Amol Rane, Jatin Paranjpe, Amol Muzumdar, Vinod Kambli, Sushant Manjrekar, Sairaj Bahutule, Nilesh Kulkarni, Abey Kuruvilla, Sriram Kannan, Santosh Saxena, Amit Dani, Rajesh Pawar.

Umpires: Shankar and S Ramani (both Tamil Nadu).