One section of the venue was full and the warm response from the spectators was rewarded by the players who raised their game and intensified the contest under floodlights.
India Green, faced with a target of 497 runs on the penultimate day of the Duleep Trophy match, launched a spirited attack but faltered against the left-arm skills of 'chinaman' Kuldeep Yadav, who returned his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket in conditions not best suited for spinners. He made the ball turn and dip and earned the appreciation of his team for a splendid show.
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India Red, resuming at 344 for three, carried on to make 486, taking a firm grip on the match. The onus was on India Green to set the pace and the openers reflected the intent well as the audience at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex warmed up to some exciting times. But left-arm slow bowler Kuldeep Yadav scalped three wickets and ensured there were no alarms for India Red. At close, India Green was 217 for seven.
It threatened to become a batsmen’s game as India Red made merry in its second innings and then the riveting response from the India Green openers added substance to the trend. The bowlers were not going to enjoy their vocation even though there was the cushion of defending a huge target. One had not reckoned with the prowess of Yadav, who succeeded essentially because of his ability to attack the stumps.
India Green leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal, who finished with a five-wicket haul, spoke for the spinners, “You have to bowl good length spot balls on the stumps as much as possible. We did not have many wickets between bat-pad. Mostly when the batsmen played the wrong line,there was not much help from the pitch. There was no drastic spin.”
There was suggestion of a fight when Uthappa and Jalaj Saxena decided to showcase their natural flair – picking easy boundaries and scattering the field with their range. Saxena, a natural when belting the ball, and Uthappa, a compulsive strokeplayer, caused anxiety in the India Red ranks. The score mounted at a rapid pace but Yuvraj Singh did not relent and maintained an attacking field. The breakthrough came when Saxena played on.
Faced with a monumental task, the India Green batsmen obviously had little choice but to attempt to come up with their best. Uthappa flayed the attack and enjoyed his outing – timing the shots brilliantly and scoring mostly through boundaries. Uthappa was in excellent form, picking the ball early, before he misread one from Yadav to edge to slip. Yuvraj’s smart catch, bending in front, ended a fine knock.
Yadav, mixing his fare cleverly, foxed Rajat Paliwal, hitting him in front of the stumps, and then packed off Parthiv Patel with a ball that beat the batsman on pace. India Red had contained the opposition’s intended rush and the bowlers breathed freely even as left-handers Suresh Raina and Saurabh Tiwary dug in to put up a resistance. The last session was dominated by Yadav as India Green was stifled into submission, ending the day 280 runs in arrear and three wickets in hand.
Scoreboard:
India Red – 1st innings: 161
India Green – 1st innings: 151
India Red – 2nd innings: KS Bharat b Rajpoot 20 (20b, 2x4, 1x6), Abhinav Mukund c Tiwary b Dinda 169 (221b, 20x4), Sudip Chatterjee lbw b Gopal 114 (182b, 14x4), Yuvraj Singh c & b Saxena 10(18b, 1x4, 1x6), Gurkeerat Singh st Patel b Gopal 82 (96b, 13x4, 1x6), KB Arun Karthik lbw b Gopal 14 (27b, 1x4, 1x6), Kuldeep Yadav c Sandeep b Ojha 28(62b, 4x4), Akshay Wakhare lbw b Gopal 0 (7b), Anureet Singh (not out) 33 (54b, 2x4, 3x6), Ishwar Pandey b Ojha 0 (3b), Nathu Singh b Gopal 6 (12b, 1x6)
Extras (b-7, lb-2, nb-1) 10, Total (in 116.5 overs) 486.
Fall of wickets 1-39 (Bharat), 2-279 (Chatterjee), 3-300 (Yuvraj), 4-370 (Mukund), 5-404 (Karthik), 6-425 (Gurkeerat), 7-431 (Wakhare), 8-480 (Yadav), 9-480 (Pandey).
India Green bowling: Sandeep Sharma 16-2-69-0 (1nb), Ashok Dinda 21-6-69-1, Ankit Rajpoot 17-1-77-1, Jalaj Saxena 22-0-74-1, Pragyan Ojha 11-1-58-2, Shreyas Gopal 28.5-4-123-5, Rajat Paliwal 1-0-7-0.
India Green – 2nd innings: Robin Uthappa c Yuvraj b Yadav 72 (66b, 10x4, 1x6), Jalaj Saxena b Pandey 26 (26b, 6x4), Parthiv Patel lbw b Yadav 21 (66b, 4x4), Rajat Paliwal lbw b Yadav 0 (2b), Suresh Raina (batting) 42 (53b, 2x4, 2x6), Saurabh Tiwary lbw b Yadav 31 (51b, 4x4), Shreyas Gopal c Bharat b Anureet 3 (12b), Sandeep Sharma b Yadav 0 (1b), Ashok Dinda (batting) 10 (6b, 2x4), Extras (lb-5, nb-7) 12, Total (for seven wkts in 46 overs) 217.
Fall of wickets: 1-66 (Saxena), 2-122 (Uthappa), 3-122 (Paliwal), 4- 131 (Patel), 5-185 (Tiwary), 6-198 (Gopal), 7-199 (Sandeep).
India Red bowling: Anureet Singh 10-2-46-1 (nb-1), Nathu Singh 8-0-55-0 (nb-5), Akshay Wakhare 6-0-24-0, Ishwar Pandey 8-2-26-1, Kuldeep Yadav 13-1-55-5, Gurkeerat Mann 1-0-6-0.
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