A captain's knock puts Delhi in the driver's seat

Services toiled for 40 overs to reach 62 for two, replying to Delhi's imposing 467 for five declared, a total mainly powered by captain Mithun Manhas' cracking 140.

Resuming on Day Two at their overnight score of 242 for two, Manhas was on the offensive right from the beginning and was instrumental in his team scoring 151 runs off the 36 overs bowled in the first session.

Services tasted some success in the 14th over of the day when they had yesterday's centurion, Akash Chopra (123), caught at silly point by P Madhusudhan Reddy off Arun Sharma, bringing Pradeep Chawla to the wicket. Manhas, who exploited Services' erratic bowling and shoddy fielding to the full, dispatched glorious shots all over the ground, cracking 20 boundaries and two sixes, sending his rivals scurrying for cover.

His 16th boundary, a captivating pull towards the midwicket, fetched him his century. Manhas and Chawla (66) added 140 runs in 34 overs, piercing the field at will, before the latter fell, brilliantly stumped by keeper Sarabjeet Singh off Reddy in the 135th over.

Delhi plundered 72 runs in 11 overs after lunch before a mistimed Manhas shot off Sudhakar Ghag landed straight in the hands of Sanjay Verma at cover; the innings was promptly declared.

Services began their innings on a sedate note, the runs eluding them as Delhi's opening bowlers Amit Bandhari and Arun Singh were on target, striking line and length straight away. Delhi drew first blood in the seventh over when keeper Pradeep Chawla lunged to his right to latch on to an edge from Narendra Pal Singh, who never looked comfortable and managed just two off 30 balls.

With the Delhi bowlers and agile fielders giving them no room to play shots, Services went into a shell, getting into a defensive mode to ensure that did not lose any more wickets. But the hosts struck another blow in the 25th over when Delhi trump card off-spinner Sarandeep Singh scalped his first wicket, dismissing Jasvir Singh (7).

However, Reddy (16*) and Yashpal Singh (30*) joined together and tried to shrug off the impact of the early dismissals, playing some positive shots. Their unbeaten partnership of 41 imparted a modicum of stability to the Services innings, and they hold the key to their team's fate in the match, given the huge total amassed by Delhi.