Pune Mohammed Shami’s guile coupled with Ashok Dinda’s consistency will be countered by Gautam Gambhir’s experience and Rishabh Pant’s exuberance when Bengal square off with Delhi in a Ranji Trophy semifinal here, starting Sunday.
The match can be safely termed a fight between one of the most potent domestic new ball attacks in the country and a batting line-up that has players who can win matches on their own on a given day.
An encouraging piece of statistic for Bengal is that they have never ever conceded a first innings lead against Delhi from 2009-10 season. And not to forget the bitter sweet relation between Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary and Gambhir, who have had their share of run-ins in the past. Manoj, however, said that their bitter wrangling last season is history now.
“What we want to do is focus on the game ahead,” Manoj said when asked about last season’s incident. “Gambhir and me we are cricketers and do not tend to carry our baggage off the field. We just want to go out there and play to our potential,” Manoj pointed out.
India’s craftiest red ball bowler Shami will get some serious match time against Gambhir, who has been there and done that for Delhi on numerous occasions. At 36 and with no realistic chance of playing for India again, Gambhir remains an intense cricketer, who has notched up 505 runs this season so far.
Bengal will also be boosted by the presence of Wriddhiman Saha who has been allowed to play the game by the BCCI. However, Delhi have suffered a blow with captain and pace spearhead Ishant Sharma being ruled out of the game with an ankle injury.
Press trust of India
