Milind Kumar is fast emerging as a reliable middle order batsman for Delhi. The 24-year-old scored his second half-century in consecutive matches to help Delhi post 245 for seven in its first innings on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Group A match against Odisha here on Saturday.
Resuming at 99 for one, Delhi effectively dealt with some accurate bowling from Odisha pacers, spurred by the nippy Suryakant Pradhan’s four-wicket haul, to put up a decent total when bad light stopped play 35 minutes prior to the scheduled end.
The young Delhi batting line-up showed a lot of maturity even as the batsmen continued to collect runs at a slower pace, scoring 146 runs off 66.4 overs, amidst several stoppages due to rain and poor light.
Pradhan targeted Gautam Gambhir and him early. Gambhir (41, 168b, 4x4), who began from 35, survived a huge lbw appeal before inside-edging Pradhan in the seventh over of the day. He added 42 runs with the other overnight batsman Nitish Rana (37, 79b, 6x4) for the second wicket.
Rana, who showed a lot of fighting spirit, could not succeed in his attempt to stay longer. He was caught behind off Deepak Behera to leave the touring side at 132 for three.
Sensing a chance, the Odisha bowlers sustained pressure by sticking to a tight line.
Composed knock
However, Milind exhibited his mettle to get Delhi out of a possible crisis. Banking on his natural composure, good technique and awareness about the situation, the right-hander blunted the challenge thrown by the home seamers.
He switched gears to hit eight delectable fours, including three off an over from left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh and two in a Basant Mohanty over, to relieve the pressure.
Milind gave a tentative-looking Vaibhav Rawal (19, 124b, 1x4) the confidence to forge an excellent 65-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Odisha fought back in the post-lunch session by claiming three Delhi wickets in the space of five overs. Pradhan had Rawal brilliantly caught by Dhiraj at deep-midwicket and followed it up with a beauty of a delivery to get rid of Manan Sharma with wicketkeeper Rajesh Dhuper diving forward to complete a spectacular catch.
Mohanty claimed Puneet Bisht early to tighten the screw.
Milind hung on to rescue his side with an invaluable 59 off 138 balls before being Pradhan's fourth victim.
The scores:
Delhi — 1st innings: Dhruv Shorey b Mohanty 42, Gautam Gambhir b Pradhan 41, Nitish Rana c Dhuper b Behera 37, Milind Kumar c Dhuper b Pradhan 59, Vaibhav Rawal c Dhiraj b Pradhan 19, Puneet Bisht lbw b Mohanty 9, Manan Sharma c Dhuper c Pradhan 0, Pradeep Sangwan (batting) 15, Subodh Bhati (batting) 5; Extras (b-10, lb-7, nb-1): 18; Total (for seven wicket in 115 overs) 245.
Fall of wicket: 1-74, 2-116, 3-132, 4-197, 5-212, 6-213, 7-230.
Odisha bowling: Basant Mohanty 35-8-78-2, Suryakant Pradhan 32.5-11-83-4, Deepak Behera 30-16-32-1, Dhiraj Singh 4-1-18-0, Biplab Samantray 13.1-3-17-0.