NEW DELHI:
Gaurav Yadav
was the leading wicket-taker for Madhya Pradesh in the last two years — when they became
Ranji Trophy
champions and then lost in the semifinals.
Yet, he had to look for other teams to play domestic cricket this season since MP coach
Chandrakant Pandit
conveyed that he was looking beyond Yadav.
Turning out for Puducherry against Delhi here at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, he reminded everyone why he has been a prolific First-Class bowler.
His figures of 7/49 blew away Delhi for 148 on the second day of the Ranji Trophy game on Saturday.
In response, Puducherry were 113/2 at stumps having put hosts Delhi under extreme pressure. The overhead conditions were always going to be helpful for seam bowling.
The pitch was lively and sported a fair share of green grass. All he did was hit the good length spot for all of his 26.5 overs to dismantle a young and undercooked Delhi batting which had to rely on No. 8 batter Harsh Tyagi’s 34 off 49 to put up 148.
His accuracy had overshadowed the likes of Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini. It was not easy for the 32-yearold Yadav when Pandit had discarded him.
“Pandit never liked me. He always gave me that vibe. Even someone like Kuldeep Sen who is in the reckoning for the Indian team was benched. He also moved to Tamil Nadu. He clearly told me that he will drop me from the team. I was desperate. Venkatesh Iyer helped me get in touch with people in Puducherry. That’s how I got a fresh lease of life,” Yadav said.
Brief scores:Delhi 148 all out in 62.5 overs (Harsh Tyagi 34; Gaurav Yadav 7/49) vs Puducherry 113 for 2 in 29 overs (Paras Ratnaparkhe 31 batting; Ishant Sharma 1/28).
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