Duleep Trophy | Mukesh three-fer and Sarfaraz-Pant blitz see India B seize momentum on Day 3

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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India B triggered a middle order collapse in Bengaluru to bowl India A out for 231 and gain a 90-run lead with Mukesh Kumar scalping three enroute. However, the team endured a top-order blowout themselves before rapid knocks from Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant left them slightly ahead at Stumps.

Brief Score: IND B 321 & 150/6 [Pant 61, Sarfaraz 46; Deep 2/36 ] lead IND A 231 [Rahul 37, Kotiran 32; Saini 3/60] by 240 runs at Stumps on Day 3

Day 3 began under overcast conditions in Bengaluru and the influence was evidently clear in the flow of pay. Overnight batter Riyan Parag nicked one off Yash Dayal  within the first half hour of play to depart for 30 before Dhruv Jurel was strangled over the next three overs to ultimately be trapped in front by Navdeep Saini. KL Rahul, after battling hard the previous evening, had his stumps broken by Washington Sundar soon after to end a 111-ball marathon for 37 runs and leave India A reeling at 169/5. Shivam Dube and Tanush Kotian joined hands thereafter to patiently navigate troubled waters and seemed destine to take the team to Lunch when a crucial Mukesh Kumar spell dispatched Dube (20) and Kuldeep Yadav (1) to send them into the break at 207/7.

Kotian kept the scorecard ticking upon resumption alongside Akash Deep to add 23 runs for the eighth wicket but once he succumbed to Sai Kishore, Mukesh and the left-arm spinner quickly folded the innings for 231, earning their side a 90-run lead.

However, it was no easier going for their batters either as Akash Deep and Khaleel Ahmed hooped the new SG around under the clouds. The latter handed his team the first breakthrough by nicking off Yashasvi Jaiswal for 9 before Akash Deep replicated the manner of dismissal in consecutive overs to dispatch Musheer Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran, the former's courtesy of a sensational Dhruv Jurel take down the leg, to have the team lingering at 33/3 upon Tea.

The tables once again turned in dramatic fashion in the final session as Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant came out of the gates swinging. In the very first over after Tea, Sarfaraz pummelled Akash Deep for five consecutive fours and Pant added two more in the following over. The dynamic duo brought up the half-century stand in just 28 deliveries as Sarfaraz raced to 44 with a four and a six off Khaleel Ahmed but the introduction of Avesh Khan into the attack paid dividends as the quick nicked the batter off four short of a fifty to end the 72-run stnad. Pant, nevertheless, kept going, striking five boundaries and a maximum across the next three overs to register a 34-ball half-century. Gill turned to Kotian for a strike and the spinner extracted the top edge off an attempted sweep to dispatch Pant for 61 off 47, forcing Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar to dig in against exaggerated reverse swing. The duo persisted steadily for 39 balls but Khaleel caught Sundar in two minds with a channel delivery with what turned out to be the last ball of the day to end with a score of 150/6.

Classic pant

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