da doce: India D are 311 ahead with five second-innings wickets left
da dobrowin: ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2024Shreyas Iyer hit a quickfire fifty, Sanju Samson a brisk 45 and Ricky Bhui a stodgy unbeaten 90 as India D had the ascendancy over India B in the final Duleep Trophy fixture in Anantapur. Already out of reckoning for the title, India D are 311 ahead with five second-innings wickets left.Resuming on 210 for 6, India B stretched their total to 282. A majority of those runs came courtesy Washington Sundar, who top scored with 87. Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar picked up all four wickets to fall in the day, finishing with figures of 5 for 73, his 25th five-for in first-class cricket.India D’s second innings began with a flurry of wickets as Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar reduced them to 18 for 3. It’s at this point that Iyer, who was out for a five-ball duck in the first innings, decided to counterattack. He hit seven fours and a six across 39 deliveries before becoming Mukesh’s third wicket.Samson, the first-innings centurion, kicked on to make his start count, putting together a 68-run stand with Bhui. The sixth-wicket stand between Bhui and Akash Sengupta was worth 94 when stumps were called.Currently second on the table, India B face an uphill task of trying to win the title. For them to have a shot, they need to win outright and then hope neither India C nor India A win outright.







