‘The ball turned and the batters were getting beaten’ - Shreyas Iyer after defeat to India A in Duleep Trophy 2024

India A defeated D by 186 runs in the second round of the ongoing Duleep Trophy 2024 at Rural Development Trust Stadium in Anantapur. The Mayank Agarwal-led side posted 290 runs on the board in the first innings and in reply, India D were bundled for 183 runs. Devdutt Padikkal did well with the bat, scoring 92 runs but there was barely any support from the other end. 

In the second innings, India A batters dominated and took the game away from the Shreyas Iyer-led side’s reach. Opener Pratham Singh and Tilak Varma hit 122 and 111* respectively, while Shashwat Rawat made 64*. India A eventually declared their innings on 380 runs, setting a massive total for the D side to chase.

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India D lost the wicket of Atharva Taide in the third over of the game but Ricky Bhui and Yash Dubey built an important partnership. Bhui went on to score a century as well but the India A spinners dominated the final innings, leading to India D’s defeat. Notably, Tanush Kotian and Shams Mulani picked up four and three wickets respectively, getting the job done for India A.

After the defeat, India D skipper Shreyas noted that they were in the contest in the first innings but their struggle against spin cost them the match. He also lauded the India A batters for being excellent and hoped to bounce back stronger in the final league game of the tournament.

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“Right from ball 1, we were on the mark. Picked up four wickets. But Shams and Kotian have been performing brilliantly. That partnership of 120 plus took away the momentum. We came in and lost wickets. We were trailing from then on. The ball turned. The batters were getting beaten. The way their batters batted in the second innings was superb. 488 on a given day is not an easy task. We were calculating in our minds how to go about it. We will look to have a good contest in the next game,” Shreyas said in the post-match presentation.

India D will play the B side in the final league game, which will begin on September 19.