Delhi, UP share honours on opening day

Delhi and Uttar Pradesh shared honours on an eventful day's play on the opening day of the three day Vijay Merchant Trophy (under- 16) final at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. UP did well in dismissing Delhi for 155 in 72.5 overs but they themselves lost two wickets for 42 off 28 overs by stumps.

Put in to bat, Delhi made a bad start losing three wickets for 42 runs. However, opener Shikkhar Dhawan (68) and Abhishek Nag (21) initiated a recovery process by adding 70 runs for the fourth wicket. Both fell in quick succession and this put Delhi again on the backfoot. Dhawan was fifth out at 114. He hit 14 fours. Avinash Yadav, who dismissed Dhawan then had the wickets of Sumit Kapoor and Abhinav Bali at the same total. From 112 for three, Delhi slid sharply to 114 for seven. Kuldeep Rawat (23) and Abhishek Sharma (14 not out) added 24 runs for the eighth wicket before the innings came to an end. Avinash Yadav was the most successful bowler with four for 33 off 11.5 overs. But Vishal Francis also caught the eye with the rather remarkable figures of 20-11-18-2.

When UP batted, they were rocked by the third ball dismissal of Ravi Kant Shukla who was caught by Shikhar Dhawan off Kuldeep Rawat. The other opener Shiva Kant Shukla also did not trouble the scorers very much and was leg before to Sumit Kapoor for four off 46 balls. Then Taheer Abbas, who was shaping well retired hurt at 37 for two in the 25th over. He had hit five fours in his 28. At close Aris Alam (8) and Rahat Ilahi (1) were at the crease.