Where Priyansh Arya faltered on the opening day, Ayush Badoni did not.
The Delhi captain, in fact, deviated from his disciplined stroke play for the first time since Sunday afternoon.
He had steered past 232 deliveries by the copybook. The poised drives rarely veered across the line. With energies sapped and plans in complete disintegration, the Gujarat fielders could not have sussed that Badoni would unfurl a cheeky paddle-sweep on 199. The jittery number had claimed Arya bowled shortly before stumps on day 1 with a ball that kept low, but Badoni curled it around his pads to reach his third First-Class double century on Monday at the Air Force Ground B in Palam.
Yet, it was not the most intriguing element of the Delhi skipper’s innings. Over four sessions, he could raise his arms aloft four times. He dismissed each checkpoint – 50, 100, 150 and 200 – with a subdued thumbs-up gesture towards his dugout. Not even a career-best First-Class performance seemed to have changed his mind. After eventually falling on 217 off 233 deliveries to an expansive slash outside the off-stump, Badoni trudged back quietly past the boundary fence. His arms rested in place, so did his teammates.
It wasn’t entirely new for the 26-year-old. Two years ago, when a massive mid-series shake-up handed him the reins, Badoni responded with his maiden Ranji double hundred on captaincy debut at the Kotla. Batting on 198 in the final hours of the fourth day, he then cracked a six to seal the decisive first-innings lead against Jharkhand and shook hands with the opposition.
“Jab bhi main wicket leta hoon tab bohot mazaa aata hai. Main usko bohot achche se celebrate karta hoon (I enjoy it when I take wickets. So, I celebrate them well),” Badoni, who also dabbles with some sharp off-breaks, told reporters.
“When it’s a 100 or 200, I just acknowledge it (with a thumbs-up). I am not expressive,” he adds.
Setting example
Perhaps the captain was setting a quiet example for himself and a bunch of individuals who have seldom appeared to play for a collective goal for years under the Delhi badge. Individual milestones could take a backseat for a side that last won the championship in the 2017-18 season.
The lower-order pairing of Sumit Mathur and Anuj Rawat duly continued to stub the Gujarat bowlers until they were completely flattened after lunch. By the time Mathur holed out to the deep mid-wicket fielder on 92 before tea, the Delhi unit put on one of its strongest batting performances this decade. That it came on a slow strip that bore staggered bounce from the outset warranted some credit. Thick puffs of dust had begun to swirl when Delhi declared on 648 for six, their second-highest Ranji total this century.
Resuming at 381 for four, the overnight pair of Badoni and Mathur did not cede a whiff of a breakthrough for Gujarat in a wicket-less morning session on day two. The captain returned with clearer intent to punish generous looseners. Badoni ramped left-arm seamer Jaymeet Patel to the fine-leg fence before a delightful late steer raced to the third-man boundary. When Jaymeet sustained the line well outside off-stump, Badoni fended at one past his reach, offering a regulation catch to wicket-keeper Urvil Patel.
Wickets fell in clumps in the adjacent Ground A, but monotony withered Gujarat on another sizzling afternoon. When the left-handed Mathur miscued a hook off Arzan Nagwaswalla, Harshal Patel failed to latch on to a simple catch that ballooned towards him at mid-on, the same position from where he had effected a sprightly run-out on the back of two wickets the previous day.
Venturing into too many shots too early undid the Gujarat openers, offering Delhi ascendancy. The aggressive Aarya Desai’s attempted charge against off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen landed straight in the cover fielder’s palms. His opening partner Abhishek Desai was rather unfortunate. Encountering Shokeen in his second spell from the far end, the left-hander rocked back hard for a firm flick. Short-leg fielder Sanat Sangwan’s helmet bore the full force of the shot before the ball rebounded in a split second to Ayush Doseja at first slip, snipping Abhishek on 34.
Vedant Trivedi and Manan Hingrajia prevented further casualties; Delhi had assumed complete control, leading by 550 runs at stumps. The captain’s composure had set an example. His boys have followed suit.
Brief Scores: Delhi 648/6 declared in 136.4 overs (Ayush Badoni 217, Priyansh Arya 199, Sumit Mathur 92) vs Gujarat 98/2 in 35 overs (Hrithik Shokeen 2/42). Delhi lead by 550 runs.