DEL vs UT

Delhi beat Uttarakhand by 7 runs, pocket six points.

An absolute crackerjack of a contest had one last twist that saw Delhi script a famous win and avert an equally famous upset over Uttarakhand in Mohali. Swapnil Singh failed to add to his overnight score but Akhil Rawat (63) dug in to keep Uttarakhand in the hunt. From 130/8, he stitched a partnership of 35 runs with Deepak Dhapola to take the team within eight runs of the target. That's when Arpit Rana dismissed Dhapola and Hrithik Shokeen trapped Rawat in front to break Uttarakhand's hearts as Delhi pulled off a stunning heist. That they did so despite being on the verge of an innings defeat is down largely to skipper Himmat Singh's blistering 194 in the second innings.

Stumps on Day 3 - Uttarakhand 95/6 in the 2nd innings, require another 78 runs to win.

A contest that has ebbed and flowed continues to enthrall us. Himmat Singh pulled off his own version of Charles Bannerman, smashing 194 of the 264 runs that Delhi scored with the bat in the second innings. He fell short of a well-deserved double-hundred but soon came a surprise declaration as Uttarakhand were set a target of 173. Himanshu Chauhan then reduced Uttarakhand to 15/4 before Aditya Tare (36) and Swapnil Singh (36*) put the chase on track. Swapnil could be the man standing between Delhi and a heist of the highest order and a result in the first session of Day 4 looks imminent.

Stumps on Day 2 - Delhi 145/5, lead Uttarakhand by 53 runs in the 2nd innings.

How do we explain this contest? We'll try our best!

So Uttarakhand managed to pocket a lead of 92 in the first innings thanks to Aditya Tare (83) and Swapnil Singh (47) sharing a partnership of 114 for the sixth wicket. While wickets fell in clusters post that, it was a sign of what was to come in the third innings. Deepak Dhapola's hat-trick blew the top three away and within no time, Delhi found themselves on 11/5 with five of the top six bagging a duck. Just as they were staring down the barrel of an embarrassing innings defeat, skipper Himmat Singh showed a lot of himmat (courage) to counter-attack his way to a sensational century. While he's batting on 109, wicket-keeper Lakshay Thareja is giving him company on 36. Which way will this topsy-turvy contest head? Who'd have thunk we'd even say that there's a contest on hand when Delhi were 11/5!

Stumps on Day 1 - Uttarakhand 98/4, trail Delhi by 49 runs in the 1st innings.

A cracking day's cricket if you're a fan of Uttarakhand, with the team routing Delhi for a mere 147 in the first innings having asked them to bat first in Mohali. Despite Yash Dhull top-scoring with 47, Delhi's batting woes extended into another game with a collective bowling effort powering Uttarakhand along. In response, skipper Jiwanjot Singh bagged a duck while former Delhi player Kunal Chandela was dismissed for 19. While two more quick wickets fell, opener Avneesh Sudha (55*) continues to hang in there quite solidly. A sizeable first innings lead will be high up Uttarakhand's agenda come tomorrow, even as Navdeep Saini looks to add to his three wickets so far to break the game open.