Ranji Trophy: Jonty Sidhu keeps Delhi afloat against Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: He may be just three first-class games old but Delhi's Jonty Sidhu (104 batting, 11x4, 3x6) - who hit his maiden first-class hundred - showed the wherewithal and gumption to thwart the Tamil Nadu attack and help them finish Day 3 of their Ranji clash at MA Chidambaram Stadium on 268-6 on Wednesday. In the company of No. 8 Lalit Yadav (65 batting, 10x4, 1x6), Jonty added an unbeaten 126-run stand for the seventh wicket to change the course of the contest.Delhi started the day on 35 for 2 in reply to Tamil Nadu's first innings score of 432 and found the going tough in the first session. Dhruv Shorey (8, 2x4) and skipper Nitish Rana (6, 1x4) departed within the first hour of play as Delhi were in trouble at 49 for 4.
Jonty and Himmat Singh's (39, 3x4) fifth-wicket partnership yielded 78 runs. On a slow track that was taking turn, Jonty chose to play the ball late. Jonty not only played the waiting game well but also used his broad blade to punish the bowlers whenever they erred in their lines.
The third over post lunch saw TN left-arm spinner Sai Kishore (2-61) trap Himmat Singh leg-before. Five overs later, wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat (6, 1x4) departed - leg-before by part-time offie Aparajith (1 for 59) - as Delhi slipped to 142 for 6. Just when one thought that TN will get through Delhi's tail cheaply, the tide changed in the latter's favour.
The subsequent period of play saw an enterprising stand between Jonty and Lalit take shape. Both were fluent in their stroke-making and looked at ease while negotiating the TN spinners. Jonty's 11th boundary helped him cross the three-figure mark. More importantly, Jonty's 235-ball knock ensured Delhi stayed in the match. TN, on the other hand, lost out on an opportunity to press home the advantage. "We were in a good position (when Delhi was 142-6) but couldn't capitalize on it. Also, we bowled at a quicker pace to Jonty. We got wickets whenever we bowled a little slower," Sai Kishore said at the end of the day's play.
For 21-year-old Jonty, the plan was to know what shots not to play. "I wanted to play as straight as possible and not allow their bowlers to settle down. I wanted to make sure I play each ball like it's my first one," Jonty said.
Scoreboard: Tamil Nadu 1st innings: 432. Delhi 1st innings (O/N 35-2): D Shorey c & b Mohan 8, N Rana c Indrajith b Mohammed 6, Himmat Singh lbw b Sai Kishore 39, Jonty Sidhu batting 104, Anuj Rawat lbw b Aparajith 6, Lalit Yadav batting 65; Extras (b 4, nb 2) 6; Total (For 6 wickets in 103 overs): 268; FoW: 1-35, 2-35, 3-47, 4-49, 5-127, 6-142; Bowling: Natarajan 15-4-49-0, Mohammed 13-3-28-1, Sai Kishore 30-9-61-2, Mohan Prasath 21-5-51-1, V Shankar 3-0-9-0, Aparajith 19-4-59-1, Ranjan Paul 2-0-7-0