All but out, Delhi will be hoping for a miraculous turnaround when they take on a formidable Madhya Pradesh led by Naman Ojha in their sixth round Ranji Trophy encounter starting Saturday.
The contrasting fortunes tell the tale of the two teams during the current season. Madhya Pradesh, with 18 points from 5 games which includes two outright wins, are very much in contention for a quarter-final berth among the the top five teams from Group A and B.
They are second in Group B, two points behind Kerala (20 points from 6 matches) while Delhi only have seven points in their kitty.
While the performance in the first five matches had been below-par but it needs to be factored in that most of Delhi's regular players were on national duty (A tour and Emerging Asia Cup) at some point of time which affected the balance of the team.
Regular speedsters Kulwant Khejroliya (back from injury) and Navdeep Saini (back from A Tour) will be sharing the new ball while Himmat Singh is back after a successful Emerging Asia Cup along with skipper Nitish Rana.
Unmukt Chand also gets a shot at redemption and is expected to open alongside Hiten Dalal, who has shown a lot of spunk up the order.
Kunal Chandela, the find of last season, might have to sit out for this match against a Madhya Pradesh team that has one of country's fastest bowlers Avesh Khan in their ranks.
Add to it, Madhya Pradesh also has consistent Rajat Patidar (558 runs) and world record holder Ajay Rohera, who had hit 267 not out on his first-class debut in the last game.
Naman Ojha's experience and Aryaman Birla's youthful exuberance will also be a test for the Delhi side.
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