Delhi face uphill task at home

“You can’t take depleted sides lightly these days,” joked Rahul Dravid, referring to how the injury-struck Australian team turned the tables on fancied India, reports Subhash Rajta.

“You can’t take depleted sides lightly these days,” joked Rahul Dravid, referring to how the injury-struck Australian team turned the tables on fancied India. That’s true, but to expect Delhi to spring up a similar surprise on the robust Karnataka team seemed a bit farfetched, for they are likely to go into the match without nine of their first-choice players.

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While five are away on national duty, Pradeep Sangwan will be playing for the Board President XI, Chetanya Nanda and Mithun Manhas haven’t recovered from their injuries, and, as if this wasn’t bad enough, skipper Aakash Chopra is not a certainty, nursing a bad knee.

Add to it the form with which Karnataka enter the contest, and Delhi at once appear the underdogs. Karnataka thrashed Uttar Pradesh in their opening encounter, scoring an outright win, with youngsters Abhimanyu Mithun and Manish Pandey putting in sterling performances. Dravid, while pleased with what his team did in their first match, isn’t taking Delhi lightly. “Delhi have always been very competitive and I am sure they will be the same again, irrespective of who’s available and who isn’t,” he said.