RANJI TROPHY | Avasthi’s incisive spell swings it Mumbai’s way after Sangwan’s ton for Delhi

Sanat Sangwan made his maiden outing against Mumbai a memorable one with a fluent hundred, but Mohit Avasthi’s incisive spell ensured the home side finished the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group D tie firmly on top at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy ground here on Thursday.

Riding on Avasthi’s sixth five-wicket haul in First Class cricket, Mumbai bowled Delhi out for 221 towards the fag end of the day. Divij Mehra then provided Delhi a late breakthrough by inducing an edge from Akash Anand before play was called off due to poor visibility caused by dusty conditions during the extended half-hour.

Asked to bat on a surface with a greenish tinge, Delhi endured an early setback when Tushar Deshpande hurried one through Dhruv Kaushik’s defence. But thereafter, Mumbai’s pace trio strayed short and allowed the left-handed pair of Sangwan and Vaibhav Kandpal to settle in. The duo batted with freedom, driving confidently and handling the short ball with ease.

Delhi’s Sanat Sangwan in action.
| Photo Credit:
File photo: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Sangwan, despite taking a couple of blows to the ribs early on, grew in confidence and showcased a wide range of strokes, including lofted hits once spin was introduced. The second-wicket stand crossed the three-figure mark before Shams Mulani broke through, getting one to turn and bounce to have Kandpal taken at leg-gully.

That wicket opened the door for Avasthi, who turned the match decisively in Mumbai’s favour. Bowling a probing spell of 6-0-17-3, the swing bowler consistently hit the right channel, drawing false strokes from Delhi’s middle order.

In the space of seven Avasthi deliveries, Aryan Rana, captain Ayush Doseja and Sumit Mathur all nicked behind, as Delhi slumped from 146 for two to 152 for five.

Sangwan marched on regardless, driving Deshpande through the covers to bring up his third century of the season. However, soon after tea, he failed to get to the pitch of one from Mulani, toe-ending a lofted shot that Deshpande caught superbly while running backwards from mid-wicket.

Mumbai bowler Mohit Avasthi in action .
| Photo Credit:
File photo: EMMANUAL YOGINI

Avasthi then wrapped up the tail to complete a well-deserved five-for, even as deteriorating air quality — caused by construction dust around the ground — forced several Mumbai players to don masks.

The scores: Delhi – 1st innings: Sanat Sangwan c Deshpande b Mulani 118, Dhruv Kaushik b Deshpande 7, Vaibhav Kandpal c Sarfaraz b Mulani 32, Aryan Rana c Sarfaraz b Avasthi 10, Ayush Doseja c Akash b Avasthi 0, Sumit Mathur c Akash b Avasthi 2, Pranav Rajvanshi c Herwadkar b Deshpande 39, Rahul Chaudhary (run out) 4, Divij Mehra c Akash b Avasthi 1, Rahul Dagar (not out) 3, Money Grewal c Sarfaraz b Avasthi 0; Extras (lb-1, nb-4): 5; Total (in 76.4 overs): 221.

Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-111, 3-146, 4-146, 5-152, 6-197, 7-202, 8-218, 9-218.

Mumbai bowling: Deshpande 15-4-36-2, Avasthi 16.4-2-62-5, Mulani 20-2-45-2, Himanshu 11-3-26-0, Tarmale 14-2-51-0.

Mumbai – 1st innings: Akhil Herwadkar (batting) 4, Akash Anand c Rana b Mehra 4, Tushar Deshpande (batting) 0; Extras (lb-5): 5; Total (for 1 wkt., in 3 overs): 13.

Fall of wicket: 1-13.

Delhi bowling: Mehra 2-1-4-1, Grewal 1-0-4-0.