Delhi was starting at humiliation against a clinical Pondicherry at the halfway stage of their Ranji Trophy at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here.
Saturday offered better conditions than one witnessed a day earlier and Pondicherry lapped it up with both hands. It restricted the home team to 148 after Gaurav Yadav returned his career-best haul of seven for 49 in the National championship and then made 113 for two when bad light stopped play on the second day.
Trailing by 35 runs with eight wickets in hand, Pondicherry is giving Delhi a taste of its own medicine that it administered to lesser teams not so long ago. Though the possibility of an outright result depends on playing time permitted by the prevailing weather, Pondicherry will be happy to ensure the first innings lead and collect more points than the host in the campaign-opener.
