Duleep Trophy 2024, India C vs India D, Day 1 Review: Axar Patel shines with bat on 14-wicket day

India C and India D exchanged blows on Day 1 of the second match of Duleep Trophy 2024 at the Rural Development Trust Stadium in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. A greenish track greeted the two teams on Thursday morning and India C captain Ruturaj Gaikwad put India D in to bat first.

The side got off to a horrid start as openers Atharva Taide and Yash Dubey were dismissed for four and ten runs, respectively. Anshul Kamboj gave India C their first breakthrough as he sent Taide packing in the very first over. 

The team's woes continued as skipper Shreyas Iyer, who was expected to take his side out of the tricky situation, walked back after adding just nine runs. The left-hand batter Devdutt Padikkal also perished for a four-ball duck while Ricky Bhui and wicketkeeper-batter Srikar Bharat followed the suit, as they were dismissed for just four and 13 runs, respectively.

From 48/6, all-rounder Axar Patel took charge and tried building small partnerships with the remaining batters. Axar was the highest run-getter for his side, scoring a 118-ball 86 with the help of six boundaries and as many sixes. 

Gaikwad & Co. quickly dismantled the opposition's tail and limited them to a score of 164 runs. The side had a disappointing outing with the bat as six of their batters couldn't even cross the double-digit mark, including three ducks.

Pacer Vijaykumar Vyshak was the highest wicket-taker in the first innings, with three wickets to his name. Himanshu Chauhan and Anshul Kamboj took two wickets each with Manav Suthar and Hrithik Shokeen taking one wicket apiece. 

Also read: Twitter Reactions: Axar Patel saves India D's bad day with scintillating knock, misses deserved ton

India D replies with decent bowling after a poor batting performance

As the India C came out to bat,Gaikwad was dismissed for just five runs while his opening partner Sai Sudharsan was sent back for a mere seven runs. Harshit Rana got the wicket of both the openers in his back-to-back overs and put the side under instant pressure.

Aryan Juyal and Rajat Patidar attempted to stabilise the innings but managed to add just 12 and 13 runs respectively before both being dismissed by Axar. Baba Indrajith and Abishek Porel slowly started to build the innings and took the responsibility. Indrajith stood unbeaten on 15 while Porel an unbeaten 32 at stumps day one.

Also read: Shubman Gill takes magnificent catch to dismiss Rishabh Pant on Day 1

As the day ended, India C found themselves on a score of 91 runs with the loss of four wickets. The side trails by 73 runs, and they will hope to minimize the trail as day 2 rolls around.