The second round of the Duleep Trophy 2024 began on September 12 in Anantapur. Here are all the updates from day four.
Ricky Bhui soldiers alone as spin twins Kotian and Mulani prevail
At stumps on day three, India D needed another 426 runs to win, with nine wickets in hand. Yash Dubey and Ricky Bhui started well, and sparked the faintest hopes of an improbable chase, until Dubey was run out in unfortunate fashion by Shams Mulani.
The left-arm spinner then knocked over Devdutt Padikkal for one with a ripper, bringing skipper Shreyas Iyer to the crease. Playing in typically aggressive fashion, Shreyas contributed 41 to a stand of 53 with Bhui before being dismissed by his Ranji teammate Mulani.
Sanju Samson then came in and took up the baton of the aggressor from Shreyas. In a partnership of 62 runs, 40 came from his bat even as Bhui remained solid at the other end. But when Samson perished, caught behind off Mulani it left his side 220-5 and sinking fast. New batter Saransh Jain lasted just 17 balls, before Saurabh Kumar looked determined to hang around with Bhui.
The Andhra batter brought up his century with a rasping shot over covers, but became Tanush Kotian's second victim thanks to an excellent slip catch from Riyan Parag. Thereafter it was only a matter of time until the innings folded, which it eventually did for 301, handing India A a 186-run win.
Final score: India A 290 (Shams Mulani 89, Harshit Rana 4-51) & 380-3d (Pratham Singh 122, Saurabh Kumar 2-110) BEAT India D 183 (Devdutt Padikkal 92, Khaleel Ahmed 3-39) & 301 (Ricky Bhui 113, Tanush Kotian 4-73) by 186 runs.
Kamboj takes eight, Easwaran carries his bat in early draw
Day four of the second match of this round, India B v India C, dawned with little more than a draw in sight. After India C had batted over a day and a half to score 525, India B dragged their innings on, thanks mainly to skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran.
After putting on 129 for the first wicket with N Jagadeesan, Easwaran watched as his teammates came and went on day three. The first five wickets of the innings all went to Anshul Kamboj, and Easwaran was not out on 143 with his team 309-7 by stumps.
On day four, the innings was wrapped up quickly, for 332 as Rahul Chahar, Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar were dismissed. Easwaran was not out on 157, becoming just the seventh player to carry his bat in a Duleep Trophy fixture. All three wickets on day four went to Kamboj, as he returned figures of 8-69.
Also read: Mumbai Indians seamer Anshul Kamboj records 5th-best figures in Duleep Trophy history
India C began to bat again, but having taken the first innings lead, there was little incentive for them to continue the match as a win was almost completely off the table. They made their way to 128-4 in 37 overs, as captain Ruturaj Gaikwad hit a half-century before both teams agreed on a draw in the early afternoon.
Final score: India C 525 (Ishan Kishan 111, Mukesh Kumar 4-126) & 128-4d (Ruturaj Gaikwad 62, Rahul Chahar 2-8) DREW with India B 332 (Abhimanyu Easwaran 157*, Anshul Kamboj 8-69).
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