Delhi resisted Mumbai on Day Three of their Ranji Trophy match, reaching 206/4 at stumps to take a 110-run lead. Ayush Doseja (62*) and Vaibhav Kandpal (61) added 106 runs. Earlier, Divij Mehra claimed five wickets as Mumbai were bowled out for 317.

Mumbai: Delhi batted well in the second innings to defy Group D toppers Mumbai in the last league match of the Elite Ranji Trophy match at MCA’s BKC ground here on Saturday. The visitors were 206/4 in 51 overs at stumps on Day Three with a lead of 110 runs. Skipper Ayush Doseja (62 not out) and Vaibhav Kandpal (61) struck fluent half-centuries to rescue Delhi with a 106-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Earlier, Delhi pacers Divij Mehra (5-64) and Money Grewal (3-74) bowled out Mumbai for 317 in the morning session. Mehra took three wickets on Saturday to complete a fifer, while Grewal who was first to strike on the day by removing centurion Siddhesh Lad (103) after the skipper added just one run to his overnight score. Mehra removed Suved Parkar (58), who also could add just five runs to his overnight score. He also removed Himanshu Singh and Mohit Avasthi. Shams Mulani put up a resistance with a 42-ball 34 to take Mumbai past 300.

Trailing by 96, Delhi openers Sanat Sangwan and Rahul Dagar made a confident start to play out the pacers in the first nine overs. Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani was introduced in the 10th over, but it was Tushar Deshpande who struck from the other end.

The pacer trapped Dagar (19) in front of the last ball of the eleventh over to end the 49-run opening stand. Onkar Tarmale dismissed first innings centurion Sangwan (24) after Hardik Tamore, primarily a wicketkeeper, took a low diving catch in the lone slip. He was fielding for Sarfaraz Khan. The on-field umpires checked the legality of the catch from the third umpire and ruled Sanat out, as visitors were reduced to 51/2.

Vaibhav Kandpal and Aryan Rana cleared the deficit with a 49-run third-wicket stand before lanky off-spinner Himanshu Singh (2/23) took his first wicket of the match by having Rana (21) caught and bowled.

At Tea Delhi were 121/3 in 32 overs with Kandpal on 31 and skipper Ayush Doseja on 18. The duo carried on in the evening session unscathed to frustrate Mumbai. Doseja, who is the top run scorer in the Ranji Trophy this season, failed to score in the first innings. However, he capitalised in the second innings, in what is his last innings of the Ranji Trophy, as his team is already out of contention for knockouts berth. Doseja brought his fifty in 59 balls with consecutive boundaries off Tarmale, and the last one was an elegant cut through point, which made a statement of the promise the 23-year-old left-hand batter holds.

Kandpal, who was involved in a 100-run stand with Sangwan in the first innings for the second wicket, showed he is a partnership builder by erecting another hundred-run stand for the fourth wicket with Doseja. He also reached his half-century and carried on despite getting hit on the helmet grill near his ear after he tried to duck to a Deshpande delivery that didn’t rise as much as Kandpal anticipated. He later lost concentration to play a slog sweep and was caught by Tarmale in the deep square leg boundary to give Himanshu his second wicket. It was a good running catch, considering Mumbai were a bit sloppy in the field, dropping a few catches.

Sarfaraz injury concern for Mumbai

Mumbai had an injury concern ahead of the quarterfinal clash starting at the MCA's BKC ground on February 6. Experienced batter Sarfaraz Khan didn't take the field on Saturday and was replaced by substitute Hardik Tamore. Khan, who had suffered a quadriceps injury at the start of the season, had visibly some discomfort in hamstring. He was rested, according to team sources.