Duleep Trophy 2016, Match 3, Day 1 Review: India Blue boss over India Green

India Blue got off to a spectacular start against India Green as openers Mayank Agarwal and Gautam Gambhir stitched up a solid 117 runs stand for the 1st wicket in the opening session. Gambhir’s decision to bat first at the Greater Noida Sports Complex turned out to be very fruitful.

India Green bolstered by the return of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah could not have any significant impact on the proceeding as Agarwal and Gambhir stroke their way to the tea session comfortable.

It was a highly entertaining to watch both of them bat. It was counter attacking from one end and cautious approach from the other end. The young Agarwal came out with an aggressive approach and did the bulk of the scoring in the middle while senior pro-Gambhir chose to be the passive partner and knock single and twos.

The intentions of Agarwal were clear after he struck Bumrah for a boundary off the second ball of the new innings. The run rate remained close to 6 until Dinda bowled a maiden over to Gambhir. But Agarwal looked in no mood to calms down kept hitting the ball to the fence at regular intervals. Agarwal flow of getting runs made Gambhir feel at peace.

Soon, bowling changes were made by opposition skipper Suresh Raina. Spinner Shreyas Gopal, Jalaj Saxena and Pragyan Ojha were introduced one after another but there was no respite. Eventually, tea was called after 27 overs of play and India Blue returned with 117/0 at the scoreboard.

Post the tea session, both the batsmen continued their dominance and built the pressure over the India Green side. Agarwal quickly completed his century. Gambhir too switched gears and reached his half-century. Both batted along and put up a massive 212 runs on the scoreboard before getting separated.

The nervous nineties caught up Gambhir after he was run out in the 59th over. The unexpected breakthrough, however, brought no respite for the India Green as Pujara then joined Agarwal and both accumulated run in at the same pace at which it was coming previously.  Both added 103 runs together before Agarwal finally departed.

Pujara, however, finished the day unbeaten on 63, having spent 30 overs at the crease. With these three bossing the game, India Blue racked up 336 runs, making thing difficult for the Suresh Raina – led side.

Brief Scores:

India Blue: 336/3 in 90 overs (Mayank Agarwal 161; Jasprit Bumrah 1/61)

Updated till stumps on day one