 "Musheer Khan impresses on Day 1 of Duleep Trophy with unbeaten century for India B")
Musheer Khan, Indian batter Sarfaraz Khan’s younger brother, slammed a solid hundred in the India A vs India B match of the Duleep Trophy 2024-25 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday to throw his hat in the ring.
While his immediate selection for the Indian Test team is not expected, it’s well known that Indian selectors are keeping a close eye on the Duleep Trophy with several BCCI-contracted players playing in the tournament.
On the first day of the five-day match, Musheer, 19, took 205 balls to get to his hundred while playing for India B against bowlers like Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, and Kuldeep Yadav.
He came in to bat at No. 3. ahead of his brother Sarfaraz and was not out by the time of stumps on Day 1. He finished the day on 105 not out off 227 balls, having smashed 10 fours and two sixes.
Musheer Khan brings up his 💯 🙌
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 5, 2024
A special celebration and a special appreciation from brother Sarfaraz Khan 👏#DuleepTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/eQyu38Erb1 pic.twitter.com/92lj578cAs
Musheer’s innings could prove crucial for India B, which is led by Abhimanyu Easwaran, given how the other batters collapsed on Day 1. Some prominent names like Yashasvi Jaiswal (30), Sarfaraz Khan (9), Rishabh Pant (7), and Washington Sundar (0) fell pretty cheaply as India B were struggling at 202/7 at stumps.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsMusheer later said Sarfaraz urged him to play his natural game. If it meant playing attacking cricket such as walking to the fast bowlers, then so be it.
“My brother and I have the same game. I try to follow whatever he does. In the middle, he only asked me to follow my technique. Usne bola agar tere ko lagta aage bad sakta hai, to aage bad kar khel (If you feel like moving forward, go ahead and do it),” Musheer said post the day’s play.
Together, Musheer and Sarfaraz played 10 overs and it was enough to calm the 19-year-old. Sarfaraz was elated when Musheer struck his third first-class century in only his seventh appearance.
“I wanted to play as many balls as possible without thinking too much about runs. I wanted to bat the whole day, and I was taking it session by session. The ball was swinging and cutting when I came to bat. So, I was trying to play the ball as close to my body as possible, and was looking to avoid those risky shots. I knew runs would eventually come,” he added.
Musheer wasn’t alone in the rescue mission as late-order batter Navdeep Saini helped him add 108 runs for the eighth wicket.
“When wickets were falling at the other end, I told myself to play intelligently and look for a partnership. Then Saini bhai gave me a lot of confidence, saying he will play whether it is two balls or six balls in an over, and just keep faith in him.
“He was also able to match my thinking and approach while batting. But generally, I was trying to defend the first three or four balls and then take a single,” he elaborated.
Khaleel Ahmed, Akash Deep, and Avesh Khan took two wickets each on Day 1 while Sundar was run out.
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