The second day of the Duleep Trophy encounter between India-A and India-B at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru saw a dramatic shift in momentum. After India-B folded for 321, India-A responded strongly, reaching 134 for two at stumps, with Riyan Parag (27 not out) and KL Rahul (23 not out) at the crease.
The first session was dominated by India-B, with overnight batters Musheer Khan and Navdeep Saini extending their partnership. They added 88 runs, with Khan’s attacking intent highlighted by a hooked six and a pulled four off Avesh Khan. Saini also capitalized on India-A’s lackluster fielding, going on to score his second First-Class half-century (56 runs).
The partnership between Khan and Saini was ultimately broken when Khan was caught at deep square-leg, 19 runs short of a double century. However, their 205-run stand set a new record for the eighth wicket in Duleep Trophy history.
After lunch, India-A started their innings with a strong opening stand. Shubman Gill (25) and Mayank Agarwal (36) put on 57 runs for the first wicket, with their cover drives particularly impressive. However, a moment of poor judgement cost Gill his wicket, as he shouldered arms to Navdeep Saini and was bowled. Mayank followed shortly after, caught down the leg-side by a diving Rishabh Pant off the same bowler.
Parag and Rahul then steadied the ship with an unbroken 68-run partnership. Parag looked particularly confident, hitting two boundaries, while Rahul, despite being dropped three times by Nitish Kumar Reddy, held his ground to see out the day.
The match is delicately poised with India-A still trailing by 187 runs. The third day promises to be an exciting contest as India-A look to build on their strong finish and take control of the match.
