The Delhi-Punjab encounter in the Cooch Behar Trophy this season was the occasion of a 'tour de force' by Gautam Gambhir. It was the final game of the North Zone league and Delhi was in the piquant position of having to win to progress to the knockout stages of the competition. Gambhir, just two weeks past his 19th birthday, had assumed the Delhi captaincy and took the opportunity to promote himself as opening batsman.

The venue was the capital's Harbax Singh Stadium, so it was a home game for Delhi but their opponents Punjab, despite missing several of their stars from last season, still had the aura of being the defending champions. Both teams were locked in a battle for second place after Haryana had established a runaway lead at the top of the table.

Punjab skipper Gagandeep Singh won the toss and chose to take first strike. Half centuries by opener Gaganinder Singh and wicket keeper Chandan Madan helped Punjab to a fighting total of 304 on the second morning. Seven bowlers were amongst the wickets including Gambhir who bowled middle order bat Baljit Singh for 46 with his modest leg breaks in the course of a six over spell.

With slightly over five sessions left in the game, it was going to next to impossible for Delhi to force an outright win. Gambhir and fellow opener Dhruv Mohan racked up 110 for the first wicket before Mohan was trapped in front by Gagandeep for 41. The next two bats in the order, Rajiv Uniyal and Thanveli Dileep offered a modicum of resistance but Dileep's dismissal sparked a collapse from 186/2 to 204/6 in the space of 12 overs. Gagandeep, one of the two bowlers with first class experience in the Punjab team, the other being leg spinner Sandeep Sawal, was the chief wrecker, claiming four of the six wickets, all bowled or leg before.

Delhi went into stumps at 209/6 but on the third and final morning, Gambhir found the company of an obdurate Vivek Khurana and the alliance added exactly 50 for the seventh wicket in nearly 27 overs, of which Khurana's contribution was just seven. Delhi had abandoned all illusions of qualifying, the only aim being to salvage some respect by nosing ahead on first innings.

At 279/8, the chances of that happening did not seem overbright. But Gambhir and Nitish Kumar raised a handy 36 for the ninth wicket to put the hosts ahead. When the innings finally terminated at 320, the Delhi skipper was left high and dry on 218 off 362 balls. Not only did Gambhir carry his bat after spending eight and a quarter hours at the wicket, he also made an astounding 68% of the total. Just 14 boundaries adorned Gambhir's double hundred; i.e. he ran 162 of his runs which spoke a lot for his patience and discipline. Sure, Delhi were knocked out of the competition but Gambhir ensured it was as honourable an exit as conceivable under the circumstances.