Morning shows the way

Delhi pacers pick four wickets before lunch during an exciting period of play.

If the Delhi camp is to be believed,a change of the ball,which happened as early as in the second over of the first day,upset the rhythm of their medium pacers so much they looked ordinary. The only two wickets which fell on Monday were to the spin of skipper Mithun Manhas. The replacement new ball didnt have the same balance and feel as the one picked at the start of the game,which immediately lost its shape.

Delhi coach Manoj Prabhakar,a shrewd and masterful medium pacer in his heydays,said he had reason to believe that the replacement ball,that didnt feel right,cost his bowlers a good start. Colourless on Day One,the Delhi bowlers dominated Day Twos first session,using the second-new ball which was just three deliveries old on Tuesday,after failing to extract anything from a fresh wicket a day earlier.

In a game dominated by the batsmen,Parvinder Awana and Sumit Narwal bowled exceptionally before lunch to bag four wickets and leave the visitors at 357 for six. Left-arm pacer Pradeep Sangwan gave away just 17 runs in his first eight overs. But a 98-run partnership for the seventh-wicket between Wriddhiman Saha and Saurasish Lahiri prevented a collapse,allowing Bengal to finish their innings on 473. In reply Delhi were 89 for 1 at stumps,with No.3 batsman Virat Kohli making an unbeaten and entertaining 51 off 78 balls.

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But the day was all about Delhis medium pacers,who put behind their first day struggles to surprise the Bengal batsmen and bringing about a welcome change to the proceedings. In a space of 13 overs,between the 93rd to 105th,four wickets fell. The seemingly lifeless wicket at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium appeared to have suddenly sprung to life,with the bowlers finding assistance both off the wicket and in the air. The Delhi attack benefitted by pitching the ball up and ensuring that they bowled with a seam-up position,as much as they enjoyed the balance and feel of the second new ball.

Arindam Das,overnight on 150,could add only six runs to his tally before Awana got the ball to jag back sharply and knock out the off-stump. Showing how bowling the right line and length,with some serious pace,can make bowlers menacing even on pitches which are batsmen-friendly,Awana jumped in the air and pumped his fist at Dass departure,but there was more reason to celebrate when Narhwal picked up three wickets in a four-over spell that cost just nine runs.

Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary,who batted fluently on Monday,was time and again beaten by the movement of the ball.

After surviving a close leg-before-wicket,Tiwary paid the price of playing across the stumps too often to give Narwal his first wicket. Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Anustup Majumdar too couldnt counter a red-hot Narhwal Shukla was bowled while Majumdar edged to wicketkeeper Punit Bisht.

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However,lack of support from Chetnya Nanda,the lone specialist spinner in the squad,allowed Bengal to get back into the game before Rajat Bhatia polished off the tail.

Brief scores: Bengal 1st inngs 473 (A Das 156,M Tiwary 69,S Goswami 68; S Narwal 3/61,R Bhatia 2/43); Delhi 1st inngs 89/1