Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh) [India], September 21 (ANI): Ricky Bhui and Shreyas Iyer played pivotal roles on Saturday, enabling India D to maintain their dominance over India B on Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy 2024 in Anantapur.

India B began the day at 210/6 and managed to extend their total to 282, thanks to a resilient innings by Washington Sundar, who scored 87 off 140 balls. Saurabh Kumar from India D was instrumental in dismantling the rest of India B’s batting lineup, capturing all four wickets that fell on the day and finishing with remarkable figures of 5 for 73.

India D faced a challenging start in their second innings. Quick strikes by Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar saw the dismissals of Devdutt Padikkal for 3 runs, Srikar Bharat for 2, and Nishant Sindhu for just 5. The team found itself in a precarious position early on.

However, Shreyas Iyer stabilized the innings with an aggressive fifty, scoring 50 runs off just 40 balls at an impressive strike rate of 125. Iyer’s innings came to an end in the 14th over when Mukesh Kumar bowled him out. The situation worsened for India D when Mukesh dismissed Sanju Samson in the 31st over.

By stumps on Day 3, Ricky Bhui remained unbeaten with an impressive score of 90*, accompanied by Akash Sengupta who was not out on 28*. Their partnership ensured that India D extended their lead to 311 runs over India B.

Currently, India B occupies second place on the points table and is hopeful that neither India C nor India A win their respective matches, a scenario that would help them secure the coveted Duleep Trophy.

In another match of the Duleep Trophy, Riyan Parag and Shashwat Rawat brought India A back into contention against India C on the third day of the final round. After securing a 63-run lead in the first innings, fifties from Parag (73) and Rawat (53) helped India A extend their lead to 333 runs at stumps, with four wickets still in hand.

The Parag-Rawat duo forged a crucial 105-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Notably, it was Parag’s maiden half-century of the tournament. His innings ended when Gaurav Yadav dismissed him in the 49th over, while Manav Suthar claimed Rawat’s wicket in the 52nd over.

Anshul Kamboj spearheaded India C’s bowling attack in the second innings, capturing two wickets while conceding just 52 runs at an economy rate of 3.20.

By the end of Day 3, Kumar Kushagra (40*) and Tanush Kotian (13*) were unbeaten at the crease for India A, ensuring their team had a robust lead of 333 runs over India C.

India A is currently in third place on the Duleep Trophy standings and is fervently seeking a win to clinch the prestigious trophy. (ANI)