Vidarbha shock for Delhi

NAGPUR: The small crowd that came to see discarded Indian opener Virender Sehwag bat finally saw their hero in action. They were chanting "Viru, Viru" from the stands and the Delhi dasher did provide some entertainment, but his short innings was the only positive for Delhi.
Though it was widely expected that Delhi would lose, having batted poorly in the first innings, few thought it would sink so rapidly.The Delhi batsmen were once again found wanting against the turning ball, besides the aggression and accuracy of left-arm pacer Shreekant Wagh as they were all out for 123 in their second innings, handing Vidarbha an innings and 93-run victory. Resuming at their overnight 133-8, Delhi had been bowled out for 154 in their first innings.
The bigwigs of domestic circuit continue to suffer shocks this season, with Jammu & Kashmir having surprised Mumbai in the first round and Odisha defeating Punjab in their own backyard.
The man who started Delhi's slide on Friday afternoon, Wagh, once again turned out to be their nemesis. The day began dramatically when Wagh knocked Sehwag's middle stump out with a brilliant in-coming delivery. It turned out to be a no-ball, however, and Sehwag got a reprieve.
However, he didn't last long as Sachin Katariya pulled off a brilliant reflex catch at silly point to give left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhruv (4-34 & 3-17) his fourth wicket. Dhruv was under the scanner before this match but he put all doubts to rest, taking the wickets of both stalwarts Gautam Gambhir and Sehwag. Wagh cleaned up last man Pawan Suyal to bag his fourth first-class five-wicket haul.
With only 35 minutes required to wrap up Delhi's first innings, Vidarbha bowlers were relatively fresh and skipper Subramaniam Badrinath didn't think much about enforcing the follow on. Delhi openers Gambhir and Unmukt Chand started aggressively but their attacking instinct didn't last long.
Wagh provided the breakthrough, cleaning up Chand — who tried to hit an expansive drive through covers — with a beauty that darted in sharply to uproot his leg stump. Delhi promoted Varun Sood to No.3 as he showed resistance in the first innings, but the move didn't click this time as off-spinner Akshay Wakhare trapped him in front. Faiz Fazal handed Delhi another blow when he caught Mithun Manhas on the crease with a brilliant in-coming delivery to reduce Delhi to 33-3.
Wakhare then came up with another beauty when he castled Gambhir with a classic off-spinner's dismissal. The ball pitched on the middle and turned sharply to take Gambhir's off stump.
Sehwag again walked to the crease with a brilliant reception. He hit Wakhare over his head for a straight six off his first ball. While he was there, Delhi were hoping to wipe off the lead but nobody stayed with him. By lunch time, the fate of the game was already sealed as Delhi lost six wickets with only 98 runs on the board. It took another half an hour for Vidarbha to wrap up Delhi's second innings. Sehwag played some delightful shots in his 41-run kock (54 balls; 2x4, 2x6) but he only delayed the inevitable.
SCOREBOARD
Vidarbha (1st Innings): 370.
Delhi (1st Innings, overnight 133-8): V Sood not out 26, V Sehwag c Katariya b Dhruv 21, P Suyal b Wagh 0. Extras: (lb 6, nb 1) 7.
Total: (all out, 77 overs) 154.
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-16, 3-55, 4-58, 5-71, 6-79, 7-84, 8-119, 9-153.
Bowling: S Wagh 19-2-46-5, F Fazal 7-3-7-0, R Dhruv 22-10-34-4, A Wakhare 22-6-54-1, S Ruikar 7-3-7-0.
Delhi (2nd Innings, following on): U Chand b Wagh 4, G Gambhir b Wakhare 16, V Sood lbw b Wakhare 4, M Manhas lbw b Fazal 1, M Kumar c Satish b Fazal 7, V Sehwag c Wakhare b Wagh 41, M Sharma lbw b Dhruv 14, R Yadav c Katariya b Dhruv 6, S Sharma Not Out 6, P Sangwan lbw b Wagh 5, P Suyal c Ruikar b Dhruv 10.
Extras: (b 3, lb 6) 9.
Total: (all out, 34 overs) 123.
Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-32, 3-33, 4-37, 5-59, 6-83, 7-99, 8-103, 9-112.
Bowling: S Wagh 8-1-44-3, F Fazal 8-2-21-2, A Wakhare 9-1-32-2, R Dhruv 9-1-17-3.