Duleep Trophy: Mayank, Pratham hit fifties on Day 2 as India A leads India D by 222 runs

Mayank Agarwal and Pratham Singh struck fifties and put together 115 runs for the opening wicket before Stumps, landing the final gut-punch on a morale-crushing second day for India D.

India A’s Tanush Kotian celebrates a wicket of India D, which folded for 183 in less than two sessions. | Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam / The Hindu

Devdutt Padikkal (92, 124b, 15x4) failed to find support in India D’s tame batting effort as the side ceded control to India A on Friday in their second-round Duleep Trophy match at the Rural Development Trust Stadium in Anantapur.

Mayank Agarwal and Pratham Singh struck fifties and put together 115 runs for the opening wicket before Stumps, landing the final gut-punch on a morale-crushing second day for India D.

Shreyas Iyer closed the day with Mayank’s wicket but the pair had already extended India A’s lead to 222 runs, laying the platform to bat their opposition out of the contest.

Padikkal’s spirited fight was the only silver lining in an India D innings that folded for 183 in less than two sessions.

Atharva Taide could do little except walk back confounded when he shouldered arms to Khaleel Ahmed’s nip-backer that pinned him leg-before in the first over.

Shreyas departed for a seven-ball duck and became Khaleel’s second victim when he chipped a length delivery to mid-on.

File photo: Khaleel Ahmed (extreme left) was the best bowler for India A, takig three wickets off 41 runs, including the wicket of India D’s captain, Shreyas Iyer. | Photo Credit: PTI

Padikkal, though, put the full variety of off-side drives on display – straight, cover and square – to eclipse Khaleel in the battle of the southpaws. He started by breaching the rope at long off before moving squarer, through covers first and then point, for his next two boundaries off the left-arm seamer.

Contrasting though it was to Padikkal’s fluency, Yash Dubey entrusting his defence to get India D out of choppy waters. But Aaqib Khan induced a faint outside edge, found only via the Decision Review System, to trip the side’s recovery.

AS IT HAPPENED: India A vs India D, Duleep Trophy highlights, 2nd Round Day 2

Sanju Samson could not save the floundering innings either as his much-anticipated return lasted six deliveries. He was caught at mid-on swinging across the line at a short-pitched delivery from Aaqib. Ricky Bhui’s promise that started with his lofts over long-on and mid-wicket off Shams Mulani was broken when he was trapped leg-before-wicket by Khaleel on 23.

Padikkal persisted unperturbed even as he lost partners, flaunting his wristy on-side range with his flicks off Khaleel post Lunch.

Devdutt Padikkal’s spirited fight was the only silver lining in an India D innings that folded for 183 in less than two sessions.  | Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam/The Hindu

It was his Karnataka teammate Prasidh Krishna who chinked Padikkal’s armour, finding an angle from over the wicket that beat his drive and had him caught behind.

Harshit Rana’s late fireworks, which included two sixes against Mulani on either side of the sight screen in the same over, narrowed down India D’s deficit to 107 runs.

The sole high for India D came early when Mulani could add just one run to his overnight tally before Harshit found a crack in his stonewalling. His end meant India A folded inside three overs.