 "Duleep Trophy: India A crowned champions after handing India C 132-run defeat in final round")
Tanush Kotian (3/47) and Prasidh Krishna (3/50) shared six wickets and trumped Sai Sudharsan’s valiant 111 as India A defeated India C by 132 runs to win the Duleep Trophy in Anantapur on Sunday.
Having entered the final round with six points in two matches and three points behind India C who had nine, the ‘A’ team showed incredible resolve from the word go and dominated the final contest of the four-day competition.
The victory took India A, who had been led by Shubman Gill in the first round before Mayank Agarwal took over, to the top of the points table with a total of 12 points from three matches, crowing them as the eventual winners.
Chasing 350 on the final day, India C were shot out for 217 in 81.5 overs with Krishna returning 3/50 from his 13.5 overs including the final wicket of the game, while Kotian sparking a mini collapse in the opposition ranks.
The contest was placed interestingly at tea with India C reaching 169 for three in pursuit and Sudharsan going strong and Ishan Kishan at the other end, needing another 182 runs in the final session of around 30 overs.
However, Kotian had Kishan (17) caught behind and accounted for Abhishek Porel (0) in consecutive overs, while also dismissing Pulkit Narang (6) after a short while.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsEarlier in the chase, Ruturaj Gaikwad was removed for 44 by Aaquib Khan while Vijaykumar Vyshak was run out for 17.
Sudharsan produced a knock of high quality as he struck 12 fours to make 111 from 206 balls but he found no support from the other end whatsoever.
India C’s fight petered out eventually when the left-handed Tamil Nadu batter was dismissed in the 78th over by Krishna.
While Aaquib ensured a short stay for No 4 Rajat Patidar (7), Kotian’s Mumbai teammate Shams Mulani dismissed Manav Suthar to continue making inroads for India A.
Krishna returned for one last crack in the ending stages of the game and the lanky India and Karnataka pacer added two more scalps to his account, dismissing Anshul Kamboj and Tamil Nadu mainstay Baba Indrajith for ducks to seal a huge win for his side.
𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐀 𝐰𝐢𝐧! 🙌
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 22, 2024
They lift the #DuleepTrophy 👌👌
What a remarkable turnaround from them, picking up 7 wickets in the final session 👏#DuleepTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank
Follow the match ▶️: https://t.co/QkxvrUnnhz pic.twitter.com/lIFrRtWSwW
Earlier in the day, India A declared their innings at 286 for six after batting for just a couple of overs after Riyan Parag (73) and Shashwat Rawat (53) struck respective fifties and wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra scored a vital 42 to help their side extend the overall lead to 349.
Brief Scores: India A: 297 & 286 for 6 decl in 66 overs (Riyan Parag 73, Shaswat Rawat 53; Gaurav Yadav 4/68) beat India C 234 & 217 in 81.5 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 44, Sai Sudharsan 111, Prasidh Krishna 3/50, Aaquib Khan 2/26, Tanush Kotian 3/47) by 132 runs.
Arshdeep takes six in India D’s consolation win
Arshdeep Singh saved his best for the last game and returned career-best figures of 6 for 40 as India D thrashed India B by 257 runs to end their Duleep Trophy campaign with a consolation victory in Anantapur on Sunday.
Earlier, India D, who started the final day’s play at 244 for 5, ended their second innings at 305, leaving India B with a target of 373 in a little over 70 overs.
Arshdeep and Aditya Thakare (4/59) then bowled unchanged for 22.2 overs to bundle out Abhimanyu Easwaran’s team for a lowly 115.
Arshdeep also recorded his best match figures of 9 for 90, with the distinction of getting out India’s T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav (16) twice in the same game.
India B skipper Easwaran once again failed to deliver when it mattered in the larger context as Arshdeep had him caught by Akash Sengupta for 19. Thanks to Nitish Reddy, who swung his bat around for a quickfire 40 off 43 balls, India B managed to cross 100.
Eight India B batters failed to log double digit score. India B thus ended the campaign with seven points from three games, having won their opening match and then getting a point after conceding the first-innings lead.
India D, who had lost the first two games outright, will finish last despite logging full six points.
Arshdeep, who got pipped by Yash Dayal into the Test squad as the first-choice left-arm pacer, certainly made an impression as he got to move the ball away from the right-handers and bowled the ideal length to trouble the top-order.
At the start of the day, Ricky Bhui (119) duly completed his second ton of the tournament and remained not out, having faced only 125 balls. He hit 15 fours and three maximums in the process.
In the morning, India D batted for 14.3 overs to add another 61 runs to their total as Bhui scored his second successive hundred.
With scores of 56 and 119, the former India U-19 skipper was named Player of the Match.
Brief Scores: India D 349 and 305 in 58.3 overs (Ricky Bhui 119, Shreyas Iyer 50, Mukesh Kumar 4/98, Navdeep Saini 3/58). India B 282 and (target 373) 115 in 22.2 overs (Arshdeep Singh 6/40). India D won by 257 runs. Points: India D 6 India B.
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