Himmat Singh’s inspriring 194-run innings against Uttarakhand keeps Delhi’s hopes alive

Delhi's Ranji Trophy campaign started disastrously as they lost two of their initial three matches including one against a considerably weaker Puducherry. With such a start Delhi's next match against Uttrakhand was a must-win match for them but again they were in a precarious position Uttarakhand but captain Himmat Singh had other plans.

He rose to the occasion with a spectacular innings of 194. Facing a first-innings deficit and a top-order collapse, Himmat's counter-attacking knock revived Delhi's hopes with a 7-run victory over Uttarakhand. Himmat Singh shed light on his performance in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda where he opened up on his thought process during the innings. 

Himmat Singh sheds light on his heroics against Uttarakhand

Himmat Singh took responsibility, saying, " As a captain, I was telling all the boys that we have to be braver. When I am giving someone advice, I need to do it myself first. So I had told myself that okay it's 0-3, I am not just going to sit around. I am going to go there, be brave and try and express myself. We didn't have a single fifty from our team and I wanted someone to break that barrier. Luckily things worked for me." 

Himmat's motivation went beyond personal performance. He rallied his teammates, reminding them that comebacks were possible and victories felt sweeter after overcoming adversity. He instilled confidence in their talent, saying, " We have a good core of players and we have to give them confidence. We have to keep telling them, 'You're the best in Delhi so you're here.' So it's all about the boys getting used to taking that pressure. There's no lack of talent. We have a lot of match-winners on our side."

Delhi can still turn it around

This fighting spirit of the Delhi win even after conceding a significant first innings deficit translated into a thrilling win. Delhi set a challenging target of 173 runs and clinched victory by 7 runs. Even with an uncertain playoff chance, Himmat sees the silver lining. Delhi have had some stalwarts of the Indian team playing for them in the Ranji Trophy such as Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, and Gautam Gambhir to name some and seeing their plight in the last few seasons must have dejected the cricket enthusiasts.

But Himmat Singh's recent heroics must have instilled some belief in the fans hoping that the young team will grow from this experience and bring glory back to Delhi in the future. Delhi can still make it to the next stage if they take inspiration from their captain and bring their A game in their next fixture.