Kohli slams ton, Delhi tighten noose around Rajasthan

NEW DELHI, November 5: Virat Kohli slammed 106 as Delhi batsmen made amends for their first innings flop-show to stretch their lead against Rajasthan to a massive 351 runs with six more wickets in hands on day two of the Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match here on Monday.
Stand in captain Mithun Manhas (86) and Rajat Bhatia (65) were at the crease when stumps were drawn with Delhi's second innings score reading 317 for four in 90.3 overs, marked improvement from their first innings total of 119.
The same Delhi batsmen who had been skittled out for a paltry total in the first innings, decided to complement the effort by their bowling colleagues who bundled out the vistors for a mere 85 runs in their first essay that not only brought Delhi back into the match but also handed them a gilt-edged chance to attack Rajasthan. And they did it on Monday in fine fashion.
Despite losing Shikhar Dhawan (14) and Puneet Bisht (0) in quick succession -- Pankaj Singh being their peril-plotter -- Aakash Chopra (32) and Kohli saw off the early danger with a 78-run stand.
Even after Chopra departed, Kohli thrived in the calming presence of Manhas to feature in a 92-run stand before a Shailender Gehlot delivery got the better of his defense. By then, Kohli had scored 106 off 192 balls with the help of 18 boundaries.
Manhas remained not out on 86 that came off 148 balls and included 10 fours while Bhatia, having made 65 of 93 balls hitting 12 boundaries in the process, too would be eyeing a ton when he resume on Tuesday.