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Ranji Trophy 2016-17: Delhi look to get their act together in final group stage match against Saurashtra

Saurashtra have had a poor season and have just about managed to save relegation with 12 points.

Shikhar Dhawan will look to be among the runs as he pushes for a place in the Indian side © AFP
Shikhar Dhawan will look to be among the runs as he pushes for a place in the Indian side © AFP

Vadodra: Delhi’s batting heavyweights would like to get their act together when they take on Saurashtra in their final group league encounter in the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 on Wednesday. Jharkhand with 32 points and Karnataka with 30 in their kitty are safely through to the next round while Odisha (22 points), Delhi and Maharashtra on 21 each are fighting for that final slot. Playing Saurashtra, who have had a poor season and have just about managed to save relegation with 12 points will be an advantage for the Delhi boys. A lot will depend on how India discard Gautam Gambhir and current international Shikhar Dhawan perform in this match. Not to forget Ranji Trophy’s current top-scorer Rishabh Pant (903), who can be a game-changer on a given day.

Delhi’s batting has not come good this season – a testimony would Milind Kumar’s tally of 421 runs from seven games, which is the second best this season. Among others, who have played all seven matches, Nitish Rana had tallied 386 runs largely due to his 146 during one of the earlier rounds. The biggest disappointment for Delhi has been their vice-captain Unmukt Chand, whose modest returns of 345 runs at the top of the order from the seven matches have hurt the team very badly. Gambhir has scored a mediocre 185 from 4 games and Dhawan has not got a 50 plus score in the 3 innings since his comeback from thumb injury.

Ranji Trophy 2016-17 Points Table & team standings

The other issue that has plagued Delhi is a lack of settled bowling attack. Only left-arm spinner Manan Sharma has played all matches among the specialist bowlers, getting 17 wickets. The seamers have all had injuries or inconsistent performances with erratic Vikas Tokas playing 5 matches with only 11 wickets to show for his efforts. Left-arm spinner Varun Sood with 14 wickets from five games have also failed to make an impact.

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