NEW DELHI: It was another familiar implosion of Delhi's top order on Sunday after they set out to chase Baroda's first innings total of 435/9 in their Ranji Trophy game. However, this time they don't have the conditions or a potent bowling attack to blame. The conditions at the Air Force Sports Complex in Palam have been as benign as they could be and yet Delhi managed to slip to 48/3 before finishing the third day at 113/4.
It's rather appalling to see the unending struggles of the Delhi top-order batters against the new ball this season. That they lost their first three wickets inside 13 overs was in sharp contrast to Baroda opener Jyotsnil Singh who carried his bat and remained unbeaten on 234 off 422 balls after having batted on all three days of the match. Delhi coach Devang Gandhi will have to figure out if it is only about the lack of application or there are major technical deficiencies in the batters. When Baroda declared after having added 35 runs to their overnight score of 400/5, Delhi batting would have fancied themselves to get a big score against their name for the first time in the season.
