Matches (19)
IPL (3)
PSL (2)
WCL 2 (1)
Women's Tri-Series (SL) (1)
County DIV1 (3)
County DIV2 (4)
Women's One-Day Cup (4)
USA-W vs ZIM-W (1)
RESULT
Group A, Delhi, October 15 - 18, 2015, Ranji Trophy
195 & 265
(T:224) 237 & 225/6

Delhi won by 4 wickets

Player Of The Match
68 & 99
unmukt-chand
Preview

Delhi look to deflect focus away from Sehwag factor

Off the field and on it, the lines between Delhi and Haryana can be blurry but the line between Virender Sehwag and Delhi is a distinct one this season

Virender Sehwag struck 15 fours in his 92, Maharashtra v Haryana, Ranji Trophy 2015-16, Group A, Pune, 1st day, October 1, 2015

Much of the focus on the Delhi v Haryana game will be on how the home side tackle Virender Sehwag  •  PTI

At around 11am Virender Sehwag's white Audi entered Feroz Shah Kotla. His team had earlier come on the bus, but Sehwag drove his own car in about half an hour later. The security didn't stop him. You can tell when people are in unfamiliar places. This car wasn't. Without hesitation, the bespectacled Sehwag drove the car to the players' enclosure entry, opened the boot, got off, pulled out his kit, left it near the entry, closed the boot, went back into the driver's seat and parked the car in a corner by the Delhi nets.
Anil Jain, joint secretary (sports) of the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA), rushed from inside the nets and towards Sehwag's car. Jain was looking after the ground on the morning. He cleared who could go in, he had people greeting him when he went into the Delhi nets. Now he theatrically made a move towards Sehwag's car. He wanted to be the first person to welcome Sehwag, but another DDCA official had already reached the car and hugged Sehwag.
Sehwag looked a little bemused at all the attention, but this was par for the course. The kit bag that Sehwag had earlier offloaded was Haryana Cricket Association's. He has played against Delhi Daredevils in the IPL before, but this was the first time he was coming to Kotla to prepare for a first-class match against the home side.
In the Delhi nets, Gautam Gambhir, long-time opening partner and friend, and Vijay Dahiya, who along with Sehwag had scored a fifty against Australia in Bangalore in 2001*, had been preparing Delhi for this big match. Before Sehwag came, some of the Delhi players had hopped on to the other side to catch up with the Haryana players. Most of the players from Haryana have learnt their cricket playing in the leagues in Delhi. Haryana's home venue, Lahli, is only a two hours' drive away. The line between Delhi and Haryana is blurred, what with a few Haryana cities now only an extension of Delhi, but the line between Sehwag and Delhi is not so unclear now.
Dahiya didn't help himself from having a quick sledge. Asked about the game against "Viru", Dahiya began with a straight bat, but the wicketkeeper in him soon took over. "It's Haryana," Dahiya said. "That's what the game is all about. It's the second game for them, third for us. We know they are a very consistent side. In this league, every side is a fantastic side."
Asked again about facing up to Sehwag, Dahiya said: "It's a match between two teams, and that's how you plan it. If somebody plays as an individual that is a different thing. We are playing as a team." And then he smiled a cheeky smile.
Dahiya can afford to smile with a ten-wicket win last week against Vidarbha after he took over as coach of the team in a shambolic state. Delhi's administration remains in a similar state, with Mohammad Azharuddin invited to a Ranji match and allegedly allowed inside the players and match officials area (PMOA) for a chat with some of the participating players. Dahiya says the players are far away from the mess. They have been talked to a lot, they have been made to feel comfortable enough to trust each other, to be able to say anything they want in the dressing room.
Despite all the controversies, the way Dahiya announced three changes to the XI a day before the match could point to a team better than what it looks from the outside. Sumit Narwal is injured. Sarang Rawat is rested, but Dahiya says they are going to ask DDCA to play him in Under-23 games so he stays in touch with "days" [multi-day] cricket. Parvinder Awana comes back after he was considered short of overs in the first match and after bowling a lot over the last week. On the surface at least, the clarity is at odds with the way the team was selected or the way the selectors and the coach were selected.
Delhi's and captain Gambhir's relationship with Sehwag remains a matter of speculation. It is said in Delhi circles that Sehwag made the move because he and Gambhir had fallen out. Opening partners, friends, India comeback aspirants, opposing Ranji captains. At their home ground. Gambhir will have Ishant Sharma too, who will, in consultation with the physio, decide if he plays any more games after this.
On Thursday, too, Sehwag will drive into his home ground with the same authority and calm. Some DDCA members might show up to greet him again. There will be warm-ups. Then the toss. If Gambhir wins it, early on a Thursday morning, in all likelihood Ishant will be charging in at Sehwag. Dahiya might not want to admit it, but a lot of it will be about individuals.
*October 15, 0832 GMT. The article had erroneously stated a 100-run partnership between Vijay Dahiya and Virender Sehwag. This has been corrected

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

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Delhi Innings
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Ranji Trophy

Group A
TeamMWLDPTNRR
VIDAR8422290.047
BENG8206280.110
ASSAM832326-0.304
DELHI8314250.215
KNTKA8215240.336
RAJ823317-0.313
MAHA8125170.301
ODSA8134120.016
HRYNA80446-0.406
Group B
TeamMWLDPTNRR
MUM8404350.851
PNJB8323260.045
MP832324-0.059
GUJ831424-0.092
UP821521-0.117
TN822418-0.322
BRODA823317-0.045
RLYS8260120.039
AP804410-0.459
Group C
TeamMWLDPTNRR
SAU851236-0.061
JHK8422310.088
HP8314301.013
SVCS8314270.472
KER8224250.084
GOA811618-0.210
J + K80359-0.053
HYD80268-0.467
TPURA80533-0.760