Gloucestershire’s bowling lineup halts Derbyshire’s comeback in County Championship
Anuj Dal’s Heroics Propel Derbyshire to Fightback against Gloucestershire
On the second day of the County Championship match between Derbyshire and Gloucestershire at Bristol, Anuj Dal showcased his skills and determination, delivering a career-best performance with figures of 6-69.
The talented 27-year-old seamer not only doubled his wicket tally from the previous day but also played a crucial role in restricting Gloucestershire to 377 all out after they started the day at an overnight score of 333-6.
One of the highlights of Dal’s exceptional bowling display was his stunning catch off his own bowling that dismissed Ollie Price for an impressive individual score of 132.
Derbyshire openers Harry Came (68) and Luis Reece (77) then took charge with a solid partnership of 132 runs, ending the day at a respectable total of 260-6. Captain Leus du Plooy remained unbeaten on 44 as they fought back against their opponents.
The hopes were high for Gloucestershire to achieve a total beyond reach when play resumed on Day Two. However, Dal had other plans as he made an electrifying diving catch full length to dismiss Price early in the morning session. This moment marked a turning point in the game.
Gaining momentum from that breakthrough, Dal continued his superb form by dislodging Josh Shaw for just18 runs with another caught-and-bowled dismissal. Sam Conners capitalized on a sharp chance to make it difficult for Gloucestershire.
The debutant Ed Middleton, who had shown promise with his knock of nine runs, fell leg before wicket to Dal. The interruption caused by a brief shower resulted in the loss of 12 overs out of the scheduled 104 for the day.
After play resumed, Dal struck again and dismissed Dom Goodman caught behind to bring an end to Gloucestershire’s innings. Celebrating his achievement, he proudly held the ball aloft as this was not the first time that he had taken five or more wickets in consecutive matches.
Gloucestershire faced an uphill battle with their injury-plagued bowling attack on a dry pitch offering minimal assistance. Despite their challenges, they would have gained some hope if they hadn’t dropped three catches during Derbyshire’s batting innings.
The first opportunity came when James Bracey failed to hold onto a straightforward catch offered by Came when he was on 39. Luke Charlesworth paid dearly for this mistake and suffered again when Miles Hammond missed a high chance at point off Reece’s bat.
Came received another reprieve on 64 as Price couldn’t grasp a fast edge into his midriff at slip off Zafar Gohar’s delivery. Besides these scares, both openers were comfortable at the crease. Reece reached his half-century with three runs off Dom Goodman while Came achieved his milestone from just 89 balls with seven boundaries.
The visitors strengthened their position further by reaching tea without losing any wickets at 128 runs without loss after displaying solid opening partnership performance.
However, soon after tea break, Charlesworth found redemption as he successfully appealed for an lbw decision against Came in only the third ball post-break. In another blow for Derbyshire, Reece’s innings came to an end at 169 runs in the 49th over as he skied a pull shot off Goodman, resulting in a catch for Gohar at fine leg.
Hammond made amends for his earlier fielding error by producing a brilliant direct-hit run-out from behind the wicket, dismissing Brooke Guest for 15. This incident occurred when Wayne Madsen attempted a single after playing Goodman’s delivery to point.
Madsen himself unexpectedly lost his wicket as he was given out lbw for 11 while attempting a reverse sweep against Gohar. Derbyshire now found themselves at 203-4, still trailing behind by 174 runs.
Fortunately for Derbyshire fans, du Plooy stepped up to stabilize the innings with his experience and skill. Having already scored over 1,000 Championship runs this season before this match, he partnered well with Matt Lamb during early evening sunshine.
Lamb played an entertaining back-foot stroke through backward point off Charlesworth’s bowling to score four runs before securing Derbyshire’s first batting bonus point with another boundary against Gohar. Unfortunately, Lamb fell prey to carelessness when he pulled a short ball straight into Chris Dent’s hands at mid-wicket, departing after contributing valuable 24 runs to their fifth-wicket partnership of 49.
The day ended on an intriguing note with Conners promoted in the batting order…