Anantpur, September 15
In a commanding performance, India A triumphed over India D by 186 runs in the third match of the Duleep Trophy at the Rural Development Trust Stadium in Anantapur on Sunday. The victory was largely credited to the exceptional efforts of spinners Tanush Kotian and Shams Mulani, who dismantled the India D batting lineup.
Shams Mulani was named Man of the Match for his all-round brilliance, scoring a crucial 89 in the first innings and taking 3 for 117 in the fourth innings.
His scalps included the vital wickets of Devdutt Padikkal, Shreyas Iyer, and Sanju Samson. Mulani's performance was well-supported by Tanush Kotian, who claimed 4 wickets in the fourth innings.
Chasing a mammoth target of 488 runs, Shreyas Iyer-led side didn't have the start they wanted. The third day concluded with India D at 62/1. On the fourth day, they lost their second wicket at 102 when Yash Dubey was run out by Mulani for 37. Following Dubey's dismissal, Padikkal departed for a mere 1. India D captain Shreyas Iyer provided some resistance with a counter-attacking 41 but was eventually bowled by Mulani.
Sanju Samson, who scored 40, was also dismissed by Mulani, leaving India D at 220/4. Despite some late efforts from Saurabh Kumar (22) and Harshit Rana (24), the India A spinners maintained their dominance, preventing any significant comeback. The final wicket was taken by Riyan Parag, sealing the victory for India A.
Pratham Singh of India A played a strong knock for his side before going back to the pavillion. He smashed 122 runs off 189 balls, which was laced with 12 fours and a six.
The southpaw Tilak Varma equally supported him when he was at the crease along with him. He played an unbeaten knock of 111 runs from 193 balls, which came with the help of nine boundaries in his innings.
Both the batters, Pratham and Tilak, built a magnificent partnership of 104 runs in 190 balls.
Other than these two batters, skipper Mayank Aggarwal and Shaswat Rawat scored valuable fifties for their team.
Aggarwal scored 56 runs from 87 balls with eight fours, and on the other hand, Shaswat played an unbeaten knock of 64 runs in 88 balls, which included seven fours in his innings.
The Mayank Aggarwal-led side declared their innings when the team score was 380 for 3 in 98 overs with Tilak and Shashwat unbeaten on the crease. For India D, two wickets were taken by left-arm spinner, Saurabh Kumar in his spell of 26 overs in which he conceded 110 runs, and one wicket was bagged by skipper Shreyas Iyer in his spell of four overs where he conceded 22 runs.
Brief Score: India A 290 & 380/3d in 98 overs (Pratham Singh 122, Tilak Varma 111*, Saurabh Kumar 2/110) vs India D 183 & 301 (Ricky Bhui 113, Shreyas Iyer 41, Tanush Kotian 4/73).