Ranji Trophy: Vidarbha batsman Wasim Jaffer shows class on a difficult pitch in Delhi

Vidarbha’s Wasim Jaffer was class personified as he hit a magnificent 83 and took his side to 179 against Delhi.
Vidarbha batsman Wasim Jaffer (File Photo | PTI)
Vidarbha batsman Wasim Jaffer (File Photo | PTI)

NEW DELHI: On a seaming track which tormented both sets of players, Vidarbha’s Wasim Jaffer was class personified as he hit a magnificent 83 and took his side to 179 against Delhi in their Elite Group A Ranji Trophy encounter at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground here on Sunday.

The hosts were tottering at 41 for 4 at stumps. A month shy of 42, Jaffer’s knock off 131 balls included 11 boundaries. His knock was sure to please the purists as during his stay, he emphasised on playing close to the body and did the basics perfectly. His off drives and backfoot punches through cover even had the Delhi fans cheering. Coming in at No 3, the highest run-getter in first-class cricket punished the loose deliveries as he tried to keep one end tied up.

His partners could not even breach the 20-run mark and Jaffer was finally dismissed off a jaffa by Test specialist Ishant Sharma. The next best run-getter was Akshay Wakhare with 16.

“The pitch was difficult to bat on. And when someone like Ishant, who is one of India’s top fast bowlers, is bowling, you need to be careful. On this track, it will be very difficult to bat in the fourth innings. I feel the ball will keep low and so it’s good that we are not batting last on this track,” he said at the close of play.

Vidarbha’s stunning form over the course of the last two seasons has motivated him to continue playing and he will take a final call regarding his future only at the end of the domestic season.

He recently worked as a batting coach with Bangladesh’s High-Performance Academy and he will also mentor KXIP batsmen in the coming IPL.

“We have a chance of Ranji Trophy hat-trick so some of us have stayed for the third season. As far as coaching is concerned, I love it and would like to pursue it once I am done with cricket. Already, I am a mentor for the Vidarbha youngsters. I am the bridge between coach and players.”

Even the last game here was a pace bowler’s dream and the same trend continued as the Delhi trio of Ishant (3/45 in 14 overs), Simarjeet Singh (4/39 in 16.5 overs) and Kulwant Khejroliya (2/50 in 18 overs) made life miserable for other players.

The problem over the course of the season has been their batting and that trend continued unabated. Former India U-19 seamer Aditya Thakare (4/14) polished the Delhi top order off in a five-over burst. Thakare got the bowl to swing both ways as the likes of captain Dhruv Shorey was deceived by away movement and Jonty Sidhu squared up by late swing. It will be up to Nitish Rana (3 batting) to rescue the hosts like he did in the last round against Punjab, He was being given company by Lalit Yadav (0 batting) at the close of play.

Brief scores: Vidarbha 179 (Jaffer 83; Simarjeet 4/39, Ishant 3/45, Khejroliya 2/50) vs Delhi 41/4 (Thakare 4/14).

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The New Indian Express
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