da spicy bet： Punjab completed a fifth successive drubbing in the North Zone RanjiTrophy league, their latest victim being Delhi which succumbed by 199runs inside three days at the capital’s Harbax Singh Stadium
Sankhya Krishnan25-Nov-2000Punjab completed a fifth successive drubbing in the North Zone RanjiTrophy league, their latest victim being Delhi which succumbed by 199runs inside three days at the capital’s Harbax Singh Stadium. On a daythat saw seventeen wickets tumble, Delhi, chasing a fourth inningstarget of 280, were knocked over for precisely two hundred runs less.There was no inkling of the mayhem to follow as Pankaj Dharmani andDinesh Mongia carried off in the morning from the overnight 74/3.After a partnership of 67, both were removed in the space of fourballs to leave Punjab at 112/5. Yuvraj Singh, despatched by theselectors to help himself to some batting practice before the ODIsagainst Zimbabwe, did not quite succeed in the enterprise. Hecollected 20 in the second innings to add to his first innings 8.Off spinner Harbhajan Singh has shown considerable all-roundpretensions this season and he boosted the Punjab total by top scoringwith 37 at No.8. Delhi’s left arm speedster Ashish Nehra continued hisspectacular run of form, scalping 6/59 and taking his match tally to10/112.Only four batsmen reached double figures as Delhi followed up theirfirst innings 104 with a pathetic 80, the second time round. GautamGambhir who topscored in the first innings with 21, again collectedthat dubious honour, making the same number of runs. All four bowlersused were among the wickets with Harbhajan, who went unrewarded in thefirst innings, producing the best figures of 4/17. Seamer GagandeepSingh almost matched Nehra wicket for wicket, concluding the matchwith a tally of 9/63.