‌Duleep Trophy | Mayank-Pratham alliance eclipses Paddikal’s 92 as India A take command on Day 2

Arijit Kundu

ByArijit Kundu, SportsCafe Editor

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India A lead by 222 runs at Stumps on the second day of the clash against India D at Anantapur. Three-fers for Khaleel Ahmed and Aqib Khan assisted in reducing the latter to 183 before a hundred-plus opening stand from Mayank Agarwal and Pratham Singh ensured India A finish the day on top.

Shams Mulani’shope of a maiden first-class century was put to rest after Harshit Rana picked up back-to-back wickets early in the morning session. India D’s fightback from 93/5 to 288/8 on the opening day ended with just 290 on the board before Khaleel Ahmed shone bright with the new ball in the morning session. The left-arm pacer removed Atharva Taide in the first over followed by the wicket of Shreyas Iyer in the same spell as the score read 6/2. Following a brisk 38-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dubey fell prey to Aqib Khan and Sanju Samson trailed a similar path. At 52/4, Ricky Bhui joined hands with Padikkal in stabilizing the ship as the pair kept the opposition bowlers on hold until Lunch. 

Resuming from 86/4, the lapse in concentration due to the break led to Bhui’s dismissal as a successful Mayank Agarwal review earned Khaleel his third scalp. Padikkal continued his flourish with the bat, notching up back-to-back fifties with Saransh Jain trying to hold one end. However, a Tanush Kotian delivery kept low and trapped the Madhya Pradesh batter plumb in front. Saurabh Kumar followed suit after facing 17 balls before Devdutt Padikklal’s scintillating knock was cut short for 92 by a Prasidh Krishna length ball. As the scoreboard reflected 154/8, Harshit Rana accelerated the innings with consecutive sixes against Shams Mulani before selling Arshdeep Sing down the river in the 50th over. Eventually, his rusty attempts led to his downfall with India D ending the innings on 183.

Rubbishing off their previous innings failure, Mayank Agarwal and Pratham Singh resumed proceedings on a careful note. Steadily, they ticked the scoreboard with regular fours along with good strike rotation. While Agarwal targetted the spinners, Pratham earned more boundaries off the pacers, taking India A past the 100-run mark in the 23rd over. Ten balls later, Agarwal danced down the track to smash Saurabh Kumar’s fuller delivery for a four and notched up his fifty, matching his partner's milestone. As the game progressed towards the day’s end, Shreyas Iyer brought himself on for a change and ended up deceiving a stunend Mayank into a caught and bowled with his effort, which also turned out to be the last ball of the day with India A leading by 222 runs.

End of day!

LOL

Wicket

Got it

Wow

Solid start

The last time

Iyer strikes

Looking good

Iyer strikes

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