The signal for DRS was largely a prayer, at best a hope. It was not possible to prevent the inevitable. Prasidh Krishna had indeed got his man, and India-A had won the Duleep Trophy.
B. Sai Sudharsan’s brilliant hundred could have been the match-saving knock on most days. B. Indrajith’s bold decision to bat at No. 10 deserved a better result, but India C had no answer to Prasidh’s incisive bowling.
The Indian pacer, playing in his second match after returning from injury, took the last three wickets to guide his side to a 132-run win even though it looked like India C might force a draw.
A draw would have made India C the champions. With Sai Sudharsan (111, 206b, 12×4) struggling against a strong, varied bowling attack on a challenging wicket, it looked like Ruturaj Gaikwad’s side would seal the win with just a few overs to spare.
But Sai Sudharsan tried to take a single off the last ball of the over but the ball went towards fine leg where a running Tanush Kotian kept his composure and took hold of the ball.
Injured Indrajit was out, but he could play only two balls and was caught by a diving Tilak Varma at leg slip.
He then dismissed Anshul Kamboj LBW. The ball came in fast and kept on going down. The umpire’s decision was reviewed immediately, but it only delayed India A’s celebrations a little.
Earlier, India A resumed their second innings at 270 for six and declared at 286 for eight after two overs.
After being set a target of 350, India-C sprung a surprise by sending Vyshak Vijaykumar to open with Rituraj. The Karnataka pacer looked quite comfortable in his new role and put on 36 for the first wicket. But his decision to take a single when there were no runs to be had proved costly: substitute fielder Sheikh Rasheed hit the ball straight onto the stumps from mid-on.
Rituraj (44, 93b, 5×4) was joined by Sai Sudharsan and the duo added 77 runs for the second wicket. The captain was caught behind off impressive pacer Aaqib Khan. Spinners Kotian and Shams Mulani then held the innings together before Prasidh returned.
Score:
India A – 1st innings: 297.
India-C – 1st innings: 234.
India-A — 2nd Innings: Pratham Singh c Ruturaj b Gaurav 11, Mayank Agarwal b Kamboj 34, Tilak Varma c Ruturaj b Kamboj 19, Riyan Parag c Ruturaj b Gaurav 73, Shashwat Rawat b Suthar 53, Kumar Kushagara c Kamboj b Gaurav 42, Shams Mulani c Kamboj b Suthar 8, Tanush Kotian (not out) 26, Avesh Khan c Kishan b Gaurav 0; Extras (b-3, lb-14, w-3): 20; Total (for eight wkts. decl. in 66 overs): 286.
Wicket fall: 1-35, 2-73, 3-94, 4-199, 5-209, 6-234, 7-285, 8-286.
India-C bowling: Kamboj 17-3-60-2, Gaurav 15-0-68-4, Vyshak 6-0-36-0, Narang 8-1-30-0, Suthar 20-0-75-2.
India C – 2nd innings: Ruturaj Gaikwad c Kushagra b Aqib 44, Vishak Vijayakumar (run out) sub 17, B Sai Sudarshan c Kotian b Prasidh 111, Rajat Patidar b Aqib 7, Ishan Kishan c Kushagra b Kotian 17, Abhishek Porel c Mayank b Kotian 0, Pulkit Narang c & B Kotian 6, Manav Suthar c Mayank b Mulani 7, Anshul Kamboj lbw b Prasidh 0, B Indrajeet c Tilak b Prasidh 0, Gaurav Yadav (not out) 1; Extras (B-3, LB-4) 7; Total (in 81.5 overs): 217.
Wicket fall: 1-36, 2-113, 3-133, 4-174, 5-178, 6-188, 7-212, 8-216, 9-216.
India A bowling: Prasidh 13.5-3-50-3, Avesh 14-2-34-0, Aqib 14-6-26-2, Mulani 19-6-46-1, Kotian 18-3-47-3, Para 3-0-7-0.
Published – September 23, 2024 01:00 AM IST