Delhi's first loss to J&K in Ranji not a low, we saw it coming

New Delhi: Delhi’s loss to Jammu & Kashmir on Tuesday has been termed as a low by many outside and within the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) primarily because it is the first time that they have lost to India’s northern-most state since their induction in the Ranji Trophy fold 65 years ago.

But those who have been regularly following Indian cricket and J&K’s progress and are not prone to sensationalising saw it coming. The bigger low than this for Delhi was their inability to earn full points from Himachal Pradesh and concede three points to Pondicherry in the previous two matches despite playing at home.

Following those failures and J&K’s recent improvement under coach Ajay Sharma, who incidentally is one of Delhi’s iconic players, and captain Paras Dogra, a domestic veteran -- they even defeated Mumbai last year – it came as no surprise that Delhi folded on the final day.

What was disheartening was their inability to put up a fight on the last day. They could not even get rid of nightwatchman Vanshaj Sharma, who batted out 60 balls for his eight runs and added 79 runs on the final day with imperious Qamran Iqbal (133 not out off 147 balls; 20x4, 3x6s). Adding the three from Monday, they put on 82 for the third wicket.

Right from the start on Day 4, the Delhi bowlers looked out of sorts as Iqbal, who was fluent for his 32 not out on Monday evening, hit another 101 within two hours in the morning session as his team sealed the seven-wicket win with half an hour to go for lunch.

Delhi are now placed sixth in the table with seven points just above Pondicherry and Himachal Pradesh. Mumbai lead the table with 17 points followed by J&K who have 14.

Here is a look at some of Delhi’s problems in the Ranji Trophy so far:

Firstly, they have struggled to bat well in the first innings. In the match against Pondicherry, they conceded a 187-run first innings lead after folding for 296. They hammered the Pondicherry bowlers in the second innings with openers Arpit Rana and Sanat Sangwan both hitting centuries. But it was too late and the match ended in a draw with Delhi conceding points. Even in this game, they were bowled out for 211 in the first innings and J&K got a first innings lead of 99. Delhi began well in the second innings before losing their way under pressure as they tried to bat aggressively and go for outright win.

Secondly, bowling has been a problem for Delhi all through the season. It was evident in the first match of the season in Hyderabad when Ayush Badoni had to take the responsibility of being the lead spinner and take six wickets in 24.2 overs, the most bowled by a Delhi bowler in the first innings. Arpit Rana was also pressed into service during that match. Rounak Waghela was played even though it is clear the talented 18-year-old needs a lot of work before he advances to the highest level. Delhi’s lead spinner in the first two games was left-arm orthodox Sumit Mathur who is, ironically, identified as a batting all-rounder.

Delhi brought in Hrithik Shokeen which was a fair decision. But there are others who could have also been tried like Harsh Tyagi or Tejas Baroka. Known mostly as white ball player like Baroka, Tyagi could have played a role both with bat and ball. The fact is Delhi have not groomed a spinner for some time now and whatever material there is, it is largely in the form of batting all-rounder thanks to T20 and Delhi Premier League. Off-spinner Shivam Sharma was chucked out after failing in the first match.

If spinners were a problem, the pace bowling has been devoid of bite. Navdeep Saini was expected to carry the load with Simarjeet Singh. But the right-armer has reportedly ‘been ill’ for the last two games. Is it fitness issue or fever? But an international bowler unable to carry even halfway through the season is a shame. Simarjeet Singh bowled well in J&K’s first innings. But he couldn’t take the field on second morning when the visitors were struggling at 30-odd for 3. Simarjeet was supposed to start but bowled just five overs in the first two sessions. He bowled well later, picking six but by then ‘bazaar lut gaya tha’. He had missed the match against Himachal Pradesh due to fitness concerns.

So barring the first match against Hyderabad, where both of them went wicketless in 25 overs among them, Delhi’s most experienced bowlers -- Saini and Simarjeet -- haven’t played a game together.

Thirdly, the home pitches. Now, who advised the Delhi team management to go for batting surfaces with little for the bowlers while playing at home? It was only in the game vs J&K that one side of the pitch – towards the Kotla Firoz Shah Fort end -- had some support for spinners. Why would you not back your below-par bowling and give them some assistance. Most teams give result-oriented tracks for home games to get full points. Delhi failed to do so. Perhaps they were afraid of losing outright. And if they had all hell would have broken loose. Their fear can be justified to an extent.

Fourthly, inexperience. This is a very young side with most players in early to mid-20s. Arpit Rana is into his second season. Ayush Doseja is playing his first season. Money Grewal too does not have great experience. In fact, 25-year-old Ayush Badoni, who made his Ranji debut in Jan 2023 and 23-year-old Yash Dhull, who made his Ranji debut in February 2022 are considered to be veterans in the team. Even Simarjeet and Sumit Mathur, who are both 27, have played just 18 and 10 first-class games respectively. Simarjeet made his debut way back in 2018. In his case, so few games is majorly due to lack of fitness. Time and again, he has proved that he is fit only for white ball cricket.

So, to chuck all the players now will be wrong because you need to give boys who are in early to mid-20s a season or two to show their prowess. They may still have done well but for the reason I am listing below.

Fifthly, the Delhi Premier League (DPL). It is supposed to bring in money to DDCA and according to rough estimates, this may generate profit of around 40 crore to the association. But has the greed for money, which is also coming significantly from BCCI, overtaken the need to do well in the traditional format. The DPL was expanded to eight teams this year and extended to a month. The turnaround period was too little. The tournament ended on August 31. There was almost a month and a half before the Ranji season started. What does the DDCA do? It sits on appointment of support staff and coaches for 27 days after the DPL final. It leaves no time for a Ranji camp or any process to prepare the boys for red-ball format. The boys rested on their own and prepared on their own. There was a camp of just a few days. You are fielding a young team and what do you do? You don’t give them time to prepare.

The Mumbai Cricket Association was less greedy. It had a weeklong T20 league in June and then got down to prepare for the domestic season ahead. That is because Mumbai respects tradition and the Ranji Trophy. Delhi has shown it doesn’t.

Ideally the DPL should not be more than 15 days long. The eight teams should be divided into two groups of four teams each. The top two enter playoffs. But who knows what personal interest the DDCA office-bearers have in holding such a long tournament.

(The main picture shows Jammu and Kashmir team celebrating after beating Delhi)

Tags : Ranji Trophy, Delhi, Jammu, Kashmir, Qamran Iqbal, cricket, Ajay Sharma,