Uthappa grinds Delhi to dust

If Delhi coach Chetan Chauhan looked to prepare a result-oriented wicket and foresaw some juice on the wicket for the bowlers to exploit, he certainly botched it up. Of all the four matches played on four different Ferozeshah Kotla pitches, this one seemed the flattest with the even bounce piling on the agony of for the seam-oriented attack. Ironically, the contentious issue of ‘exploiting’ home advantage sprouted yet again as Delhi looked desperate to gain full points in this match.

And then there was this young man whose stubble and long-hair garnered much interest in the gallery, but who eventually raked in more praise for his shot-selection and flamboyant innings of unbeaten 161.

Robin Uthappa is a firm believer that an India recall is solely a byproduct of sustained performances at the domestic level and, as if to drive the point home, the former India opener notched his second ton of the season.

Robin played and missed a few but hit a lot more through the cover and point regions to keep a brisk rate of scoring. The fall of Rowland Barrington and Bharat Chipli to Nehra early on didn’t deter Robin from taking on the left-hand seamer and he flashed his bat at everything that was pitched short or in his driving range. In fact, he hit Nehra for three consecutive fours in an over, including an edged one that went close to a lunging Aakash Chopra at slips.

He has always kept the fielders interested — that’s the way he plays — and today he kept them busy again with his 21 boundaries. He reached his hundred in a mere 136 balls, taking off between lunch and tea. Together with C Raghu, the two put on exactly 200 for the third wicket and dictated terms as the hosts resigned to their fate with drooping shoulders. To make matters worse, Shikhar dropped Raghu at slips off Ishant and that allowed the batsman to add another 40 more before he nicked one at 87 off Rajat Bhatia. Chopra at slips picked it clean.

Karnataka skipper Yere Goud walked in and grinded the attack as the frustration of Delhi bowlers grew with each passing over. The bowlers remained a bit unlucky though, especially Nehra, who had two good lbw shouts against Uthappa turned down. Kuunal looks doubtful to bowl again and Nanda, the lone spinner, had an ordinary day. Nehra and Ishant will have to again go in and try hard tomorrow. Delhi’s problems are only increasing, and it’s about time to ask the question — is it of their own making

Brief scores: Karnataka 299/3 in 80 overs (Robin Uthappa 161 not out, C Raghu 87, Ashish Nehra 2/113) vs Delhi.