Stuart Binny celebrated his maiden call-up to the Indian ODI squad by scoring a fluent 88 on a slow and low Ferozeshah Kotla wicket here Tuesday, pushing Karnataka past Delhi's 202 on day two of the Group A match in Ranji Trophy.
In other matches, Services were relegated as they lost their Group B match to Saurashtra by nine wickets in Rajkot. In Chennai, Tamil Nadu are also on the verge of sealing a knock out spot as on the third day they need just 83 runs with nine wickets in hand to beat Bengal. In Dhanbad, Jharkhand are also staring at relegation against Haryana.
Meanwhile in Delhi, little did Binny, an all-rounder, knew at the stroke of tea that he had been included in the national side for the tour of New Zealand.
Rather than letting the occasion get the better of him, Binny repaid the faith the selectors have shown in him by batting with flair when others have struggled.
"I got the selection news four minutes before the start of the evening session. It took me to two to three overs to settle down. It is a feeling I can't explain. But I had to recompose my thoughts as we had a job to do," said Binny after the day's play with Karnataka at 226 for five and leading by 24.
Binny went on to add 40 runs more to his tea score before Ashish Nehra (2/33) trapped him in front of the stumps. Binny faced 94 balls for his 88.
His 127-run partnership with opener Karun Nair (92 not out) enabled his team to get the crucial first innings lead in a game which has so far been affected by bad light.
The sun stayed away from Kotla for the whole day, making things tougher for the players in the Delhi chill.
Overnight rain meant the outfield was wet in the morning, delaying the start by close to two hours. And when play finally began, poor light did not allow the seamers to operate.
Gautam Gambhir had no option but to give the ball to left arm spinner Varun Sood (2/75).
Medium pacer Rajat Bhatia (1/10) bowled the second over of the day and it took him only three balls for Mayank Agarwal to drag the ball back on to the stumps. The visitors went to lunch at 40 for two.
It became 73 for four at the break, bringing Nair and Binny together.
The opener played second fiddle to Binny who was aggressive right from the word go.
The 29-year-old all-rounder struck half a dozen sixes and seven fours by the time he was dismissed.
Only seventy one overs could be bowled during the day before play was called off due to fading light.
Scores:
Group A
In Delhi: Karnataka 226/5 (Nair 92 batting, Binny 88) vs Delhi 202.
In Bhubaneshwar: Haryana 294/2 (Dewan 136 not out) vs. Odisha 242.
In Dhanbad: Jharkhand 210/9 vs. Punjab 516.
In Valsad: Mumbai 154 and 76/4 vs. Gujarat 253 (Abdulla 6/42).
Group B
In Rajkot: Saurashtra 177 and 33/1 beat Services 72 and 135 by nine wickets.
In Chennai: Tamil Nadu 85 and 102/1 (Karthik 56 not out) vs. Bengal 130 and 139 (Rahil 6/64, Rangarajan 4/48).
In Jaipur: Rajasthan 155/1 vs. Baroda 236 (Waghmode 114; Chahar 5/58, Pankaj 4/99).
In Lucknow: Railways 301/4 (Ghosh 89 not out, Rawat 83 not out) vs. Uttar Pradesh (Bad light, no play).
Group C
In Porvorim: Andhra 148 and 32/3 vs. Goa 267.
In Hyderabad: Hyderabad 201 and 46/1 vs. Kerala 264
In Agartala: Jammu & Kashmir 117/3 vs. Tripura 280 (Takawale 83; Beigh 5/80).
In Guwahati: Maharashtra 361 and 16/0 vs. Assam 152 (Darekar 6-53).
