The only thing that went wrong for Delhi on Monday was their experienced pacer Ashish Nehra pulling his hamstring in his opening spell which forced him out of the game. However, the former bowler needed not have exerted himself as the opposition, unfancied Assam, barely troubled the host bowlers.
When the top-scorer plods for 23 in a one-day game, the team's fate is pretty much sealed, and Assam were skittled for 94 before Delhi secured an eight-wicket victory in the first pre-quarterfinal of the Vijay Hazare trophy one-day tournament at the Ferozshah Kotla stadium.
Delhi, who maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament, will now play Railways in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The hosts applied pressure from the start. Assam managed to hold on until the seventh over before medium pacer Pradeep Sangwan scalped opener Pallab Das in first slip. The disciplined line maintained by Delhi bowlers meant Assam scored just over 20 runs in the first 10 overs. Although Nehra limped off after bowling three overs without taking a wicket, skipper Rajat Bhatia came on to jolt the Assam middle order.
The spinners then continued to wreak havoc on a pitch that had something for them. Left arm spinner Pawan Negi, who replaced Yogesh Nagar in the eleven, flighted the ball well and finish with two wickets before Varun Sood ran through the lower order. Delhi knocked off the target in the 21st over with Dhawan staying unbeaten on 42. Brief scores
{{/usCountry}}The spinners then continued to wreak havoc on a pitch that had something for them. Left arm spinner Pawan Negi, who replaced Yogesh Nagar in the eleven, flighted the ball well and finish with two wickets before Varun Sood ran through the lower order. Delhi knocked off the target in the 21st over with Dhawan staying unbeaten on 42. Brief scores
{{/usCountry}}Assam 94 all out in 32.5 overs (Jadhav 23; Sood 4/36) Delhi 96/2 in 20.2 overs (Dhawan 42 not out)