India B will head into the final day of its Duleep Trophy encounter against India A with a slight advantage, having built a 240-run lead by the end of day three at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
After dismissing India A for a paltry 231 – adding only 97 runs to their overnight score of 134 for two – India B capitalized on their 90-run first-innings lead. This was fueled by aggressive batting from Sarfaraz Khan (46 runs off 36 balls) and Rishabh Pant (61 runs off 47 balls). By the end of play, India B had reached 150 for six, with Nitish Reddy’s dismissal signaling the end of the day’s action.
Speedsters Akash Deep and Khaleel Ahmed had initially put India B on the back foot, reducing them to 22 for three. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and first-innings hero Musheer Khan all found themselves back in the pavilion. Jaiswal and Musheer were both caught down the leg side, with Dhruv Jurel displaying sharp catching skills.
However, Sarfaraz and Pant launched a counterattack with dazzling stroke-play. In the first over after tea, Sarfaraz smashed five consecutive boundaries off Akash Deep. His six over point off Khaleel was a highlight of his innings. Pant started with a punchy four through cover and then dispatched Khaleel for back-to-back boundaries.
A daring reverse ramp against Akash, that sailed between the ‘keeper and first slip, was a testament to Pant’s unwavering aggression despite a lengthy absence from red-ball cricket.
While their respective innings weren’t without chances, Sarfaraz could have been out without scoring if Tilak Varma had held onto a difficult catch at cover. Khaleel then dropped Sarfaraz on 28, and Jurel misjudged and missed a catch off Pant when he was on 22. However, their 72-run partnership, scored off just 56 balls, effectively stalled India A’s comeback attempt.
Sarfaraz was eventually caught behind while attempting to cut an Avesh Khan delivery. Khan was ecstatic and even gave Sarfaraz a fiery send-off, adding to the intensity of the match.
Pant, though, continued his relentless assault. He smashed Kuldeep Yadav straight down the ground, cut behind square for two boundaries, and lofted over long-on for a magnificent six. He soon reached his half-century off only 34 balls with a sharp single. But just when it seemed he was on course for a century, he top-edged a sweep off Tanush Kotian into the hands of the short fine-leg fielder.
Earlier in the day, India A stumbled from a promising position. From 134 for two at the start, they slipped to 169 for five. K.L. Rahul, who had patiently worked his way to 37 from 110 balls, attempted a paddle sweep off Washington Sundar and was bowled. If not for Kotian’s 32 runs off 71 balls, India A would have been in a far more precarious situation.
The scores at the end of Day 3:
India-B
* 1st innings: 321 (Musheer Khan 181, Navdeep Saini 56; Akash Deep 4/27)
* 2nd Innings: 150/6 (Sarfaraz Khan 46, Rishabh Pant 61; Akash 2/9)
India-A
* 1st innings: 231 (Mayank Agarwal 36, K.L. Rahul 37; Mukesh 3/19)
