Duleep Trophy 2016, Match 1, Day 2 Review: India Red sit comfortably on top

India Red dominated the 2^nd day’s proceedings as Nathu Singh continued his stupendous display of fast bowling. Resuming at the overnight score of 116/7, the India Green side could add only 34 runs to its tally before the paceman polished off the tail and wrapped up their innings for just 151.

Saurabh Tiwary was the only batsman who batted meaningfully today and was sort of savior for the batting side. The day began on a rather steady note for the Green side with Tiwary and Dinda showing good resistance.

The pair added vital 39 runs for the 8^th wicket to take their team closer to 161 run mark set by India Red. However, soon Nathu Singh intervened and put an end to their resilience by cleaning up Dinda. Afterwards, it didn’t take much time for the India Green innings to some to an end.

Nathu Singh added two more wickets to his credit, snapping Pragyan Ojha and Saurabh Tiwary. Ojha could survive only three balls in front of Nathu Singh before getting out in a similar fashion. Saurabh Tiwary the lone man fighting in the middle was the last man to fall just after completing his half-century.

The lethal combination of natural pace and swing enabled Singh to run through the opposition and end with wonderful numbers of 6/53. Left-armChinaman Kuldeep Yadav was the only other bowler who could be among wickets, taking an impressive 3/32.

India Green’s dismal performance meant that the India Red gained a useful 10 run advantage. The first inning was all about the bowler dominating the batters. However, after witnessing a plethora of wickets fall in the first innings, fans were finally able to enjoy some proper batting action.

India Red began the on a steady note with openers Srikar Bharat and Abhinav Mukund building a steady 39 runs stand. However, it was not long before the Green side claimed their first success as Ankit Rajpoot snapped Bharat to put an end to the opening stand.

Sudip Chatterjee, however, ensured that there was no flurry of wickets and batted well with Mukund to forge an unbeaten 2nd wicket stand of 133.

The fast bowlers were still getting the same amount of help they got in the first innings. But, unfortunately, they could not get any wickets as Mukund and Chatterjee thwarted the opposition, scoring runs at a brisk pace.

Mukund, particularly, looked in great touch a batted with his counter-attacking approach. It took him no time to reach his half-century while Chatterjee also followed the suit. Both ended unbeaten at dinner with Chatterjee batting at 78 and Mukund standing just ten runs short of his century. The duo’s solid performances saw India Red reach a comfortable 172/1 before the umpires brought an end to the session.

The pair continued to dominate the opposition  Mukund did not commit any mistake and reached his century duly. Chatterjee also reached the triple mark shortly. There was no respite for the India Green bowlers as the partnership kept ballooning. The pair could be separated only after they had racked up a massive 240 runs.

It was leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal who brought the much-needed breakthrough, snapping the wicket of Chatterjee. There was a bit of consolation for the Greens after Jalaj Saxena managed to chip in with the wicket of Yuvraj Singh. However, the damage had been done as the India Red side ended the day with a huge lead of 354 runs.

Brief Scores:

1st Innings

India Red: 161 all out (A Mukund 77; S Sharma 4/62)

India Green: 116/7 (S Tiwary 50; N Singh 6/53)

2nd Innings:

India Red: 344/3 (Abhinav Mukund 162; Ankit Rajpoot 1/63)