Duleep Trophy 2017, IND Red v IND Green Day 2 Review: Gowtham, Sharma rattle Greens, hands Reds big advantage

If the inaugural day of the 56th edition of Duleep Trophy was a slow paced 1960s melodrama, Day 2 of the India Red v India Green match was very definitely a 2017 thriller, which had a lot of action and drama. The day began with Reds’ skipper Dinesh Karthik and Krishnappa Gowtham standing on the opposite ends of the 22 yards, with 232 runs already on the board but half the side sitting in the dressing room.

Parthiv Patel knew the importance of getting a breakthrough early in the day, but unfortunately for him, his bowlers were not up for it. Hence, the beginning of Day 2 saw a repetition of what happened on Day 1, with Karthik and Gowtham slowly yet ever so steadily strengthening getting in terms with the pitch. The first wicket came in the form of Gowtham, who was undone by Navdeep Saini, thereby giving the latter his first joy, which turned out to be his only.

Karn Sharma began steadily but could not dig deep in the crease as finally the highly-rated pacer Mohammed Siraj got his name on the wicket-takers’ list. But Reds were nearing the 300 run-mark and as Karthik, who was nearing his half-century. The skipper departed soon after completing his fifty as he was found leg before wicket off Siraj’s bowling.

Chama Milind, Ashok Dinda and Siddarth Kaul tried to chip in here and there, but the innings finally saw a full stop at 323 runs. With such a target, the domestic cricket enthusiasts must have been rooting for a closely contested match. But lo! there was no contest at all from Parthiv’s men. The batting lineup featuring names likes skipper double P, Indian Test team opener Murali Vijay, Karun Nair and Ankit Bawne could hardly stand up in front of Gowtham and Karn Sharma.

Chopra-Nair’s fightback

Both openers Vijay and Ravikumar Samarth were sent back to the pavilion within the first three overs. But Himachal Pradesh based cricketer Prashant Chopra decided to show some resilience and made Nair his partner in ‘mission never give up’. Both Nair and Chopra were in their flow and formed a 100-run plus partnership, The breakthrough finally came in the form of Nair, who was undone by Gowtham on 37.

The massacre

What followed afterwards is indescribable, as ‘collapse’ would be such an understatement. From 137/3, the Greens lost their greenery and were all out for 157 runs. The architects behind this ‘7 wickets in 20 runs’ massacre were Gowtham and Sharma, as the two spinners spun webs around PP’s batting lineup. Only Parthiv could make his way into double figures, as the rest of his batters, including Bawne and Mayank Dagar, were dumbfounded. Barring Chopra, Nair and Parthiv’s knock, one might very well confuse Green’s batting scorecard for a mobile number.

DK’s pace trio- Dinda, Kaul and Milind enjoyed the role of spectators as Gowtham and Sharma were in the middle of the action. While the latter picked up four wickets, the former scalped five to complete his 5-wicket haul. A lead of 166 runs was more than enough to predict which team is in the driver’s seat. Priyank Panchal and Sudip Chatterjee began the second innings in the similar fashion, as they had all the time in the world.

However, the Greens brought back some joy by dismissing Sudip for 7, courtesy the same, old yet trusted warrior, Murali Vijay. But that was all as Gahlaut Rahul Singh and Priyank Panchal played out the remaining overs smoothly. At the end of 2nd day’s play, Reds are standing at 19/1, with a comfortable lead of 185 runs. However, they must not rest on their laurels, else a similar 7 for 20 tragedy will make things perfect for a neutral.

Brief Scores

1st Innings

India Red: 323 (Priyank Panchal 105; Mohd Siraj 2/43)

India Green: 157 (Prashant Chopra 65; K Gowtham 5/46, Karn Sharma 4/39)

2nd Innings

India Red: 19/1 (Panchal 11*; Murali Vijay 1/8)