Delhi's Tea-Time Collapse Paves Way for J&K's Historic Chance
In a dramatic turn of events at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi suffered a catastrophic batting collapse during the final session of Day 3 in their Ranji Trophy encounter against Jammu & Kashmir. What seemed like a promising recovery transformed into disaster within moments after tea, leaving the hosts staring at potential defeat.
The Partnership That Offered Hope
During the afternoon session, Delhi appeared to have found their footing through a resilient partnership between Ayush Badoni and Ayush Doseja. As batting conditions improved at the Feroz Shah Kotla grounds, the duo displayed aggressive intent, both scoring quickfire fifties that suggested Delhi might set a challenging target.
Badoni, in particular, looked dangerous during his 73-ball 72, while Doseja contributed a valuable 62. Their partnership had lifted Delhi from early troubles and created the possibility of forcing Jammu & Kashmir into a difficult fourth-innings chase.
The Dramatic Turnaround
The match turned decisively when Vivrant Sharma took a spectacular running, diving catch at deep square-leg to dismiss the dangerous Badoni. This breakthrough triggered an unprecedented collapse that saw Delhi lose their last six wickets for just 35 runs.
Most remarkably, the final five wickets fell within just 25 balls during the post-tea session. The collapse left Delhi all out for 277 in their second innings, setting Jammu & Kashmir a modest target of 178 runs for victory.
Vanshaj Sharma's Career-Best Performance
The destruction was orchestrated primarily by left-arm spinner Vanshaj Sharma, who recorded career-best figures of 6 for 68. The 22-year-old, who claimed four of the last five wickets, revealed his simple strategy against a batting-friendly pitch.
"Sometimes, the ball is staying low but otherwise it is coming onto the bat quite nicely. Badoni and Doseja were showing that when they were batting," Vanshaj explained. "So we decided to bowl it slow. It is mostly flat but the odd ball is turning, and to find that, I kept bowling it slow. It ended up working well."
Interestingly, Vanshaj has personal connections to both teams. Born in Jammu but moving to Delhi at age eight, he now resides in Dwarka and has played school-level cricket with some of his current opponents.
J&K's Confident Chase
Jammu & Kashmir began their chase aggressively, with opener Qamran Iqbal smashing six boundaries in his unbeaten 32 during the 11 overs faced before stumps. The visitors reached 55 for 2 at close of play, needing just 124 more runs on the final day for what would be their first-ever Ranji Trophy victory over Delhi.
This performance continues Delhi's disappointing season, where they remain winless in three matches. Their inconsistent form, particularly in bowling, has been evident throughout the campaign, including conceding first-innings lead to Puducherry in their previous encounter.
Brief scores: Delhi 211 & 277 all out in 69.1 overs (Ayush Badoni 72, Ayush Doseja 62; Vanshaj Sharma 6/68) vs Jammu and Kashmir 311 & 55/2 (Qamran Iqbal 32 n.o).
