Test aspirants Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan wouldn’t prefer to see their dismissals once more towards Divij Mehra’s navy medium tempo. In each the innings, Mehra caught Shaw with a nip-backer, a well-recognized nemesis for the Mumbai batsman. So did his colleague Sarfaraz, whose off-stump went beneath the affect of one other Mehra incoming ball for a uncommon first-ball duck. Batting again in Mumbai’s two-pillar hut, the file champions scored 168 for 9 at stumps, a 92-run lead, after which Delhi added 54 runs to their in a single day whole of 315 for 7. Finished first innings. 369.
Shaw, who got here into this match after scoring a triple century towards Assam, scored 16 runs in simply 19 balls as he couldn’t carry
Bat down in time to lure in entrance. They have been weak up to now by Trent Boult and Tim Southee in Wellington and Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in Adelaide. As he plans his Test comeback, what’s stunning is that Mehra’s supply clocked solely 121 kmph, most likely the quickest he bowled all day.
His plan was to not give breadth. “You can’t afford to present width to gamers like Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan. They will kill you for enjoyable. My plan was to bowl in-swinger, and never give him an opportunity to open his arms and it labored,” Mehra stated later.
ICYMI!
Divij Mehra scalped 2️⃣ wickets in consecutive deliveries for Delhi to dismiss Armaan Jaffer and Sarfaraz Khan#Ranji Trophy , #DALEvMUM , @mastercardindia
Watch 🎥https://t.co/22zuolu1oJ pic.twitter.com/AYut9X2rK4
– BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 19, 2023
After including 9 runs to the full, Mehra dismissed Armaan Jaffer, who dismissed Anuj Rawat behind the stumps with a few pleasant fours. In got here Sarfaraz, a serial century-maker who had been criticized for lacking the Australia collection, recent off a century within the first innings. But he, like Shaw, couldn’t cease the bowler leaning again into the stumps. Mehra additionally harassed Sarfaraz’s brother, 17-year-old Musheer Khan. His tendency to play away from the physique has been a trigger for concern. With wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat standing as much as the stumps, Mehra edged a supply between his bat and pad. Instead of tempo, the ball pushed alongside at 116 kmph, it was his technical glitch that did not go down.
Delhi had been quickly 37 for five in a chilly winter, earlier than Ajinkya Rahane put up a protest with Shams Mulani. The pair placed on a 59-run partnership, after which Hrithik Shokeen dismissed Mulani for 30 off 66 balls.
Rahane and Tanush Kotian constructed once more, however with the rating at 141/6, Pranshu Vijayaran dismissed the Mumbai skipper for 51. Rahane struggled until his half-century however by no means regarded uncomfortable. Vijayaran repeatedly beat his exterior edge earlier than getting an out of doors edge, and a superb low catch by Vaibhav Raval at second slip. Kotian held agency however Mumbai misplaced the wickets of Tushar Deshpande and Mohit Awasthi earlier than play was halted attributable to dangerous gentle. With the wicket of Awasthi, Mehra took his first five-wicket haul and turned the sport in Delhi’s favour.
rollercoaster begin
Mehra has had a roller-coaster begin to 2023. He earned his first Ranji Trophy call-up, then was launched to play the U-25s. The day he reached Hyderabad to play the U-25 match, he was referred to as as much as play for the senior group towards Andhra as quick bowler Kuldeep Yadav bought injured. It was his unbeaten 55-run Tenth-wicket partnership with Harshit Rana that helped Delhi get their first three factors of the season (first innings lead). Now his first 5 wicket haul.
Mehra couldn’t imagine his luck. He stated: “I made three flights in two days to make my debut against Andhra and now I have a fifty. At the start of the season, I never thought I would get a Ranji call-up this season,” he added. Told.
Had Delhi’s first-choice pacer been match, the 20-year-old may not have been within the body. Five of them—Ishan Sharma, Simarjit Singh, Pradeep Sangwan, Mayank Yadav and Kuldeep Yadav—are nursing accidents. But it didn’t matter, as Mehra made his first impression in first-class cricket.
Brief scores: Mumbai 293 and 168/9 (Ajinkya Rahane 51, Tanish Kotian 48 batting; Divij Mehra 5/29, Pranshu Vijayaran 2/40) go away Delhi 369 for 92.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
