KL Rahul’s gumption, which helped him pile a patient fifty, found no resonance among his colleagues as India B pacers led by Yash Dayal pushed India A to a 76-run defeat on the fourth and final day of their Duleep Trophy match on Sunday. Chasing 275, India A were bundled out for 198 in their second innings as left-arm seamer Dayal (3/50), with able support from his colleagues Mukesh Kumar (2/50) and Navdeep Saini (2/41), led the India B attack. Rahul top-scored for ‘A’ with a 51.

In the first session of the day, India B made 184 all out in their second essay to muster a handy overall lead of 274.

The India A chase began on a shaky note as Mayank Agarwal departed in the second over itself, wafting Dayal away from his body to Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made a wonderful diving catch at second slip.

That brought Riyan Parag to the middle and the right-hander followed the path set on Saturday by Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan.

Parag took on the bowlers and pacer Mukesh bore the brunt of his aggression, getting smoked for two sixes and the second maximum touched the roof of the Chinnaswamy Stadium over the mid-wicket region.

Parag added 48 runs for the second with a rather subdued Shubman Gill, who was dropped by Nitish Reddy at slips off Mukesh on 16, and 31 came off the former’s bat in just 18 balls.

But the approach was tough to sustain considering the kind of assistance the bowlers were getting here, and soon his massive hoick off Dayal took an edge off Parag’s bat en route to stumper Rishabh Pant.

Gill (21) departed soon, falling to Saini for the second time in the match and on this occasion, he edged the pacer to Pant.

Dhruv Jurel poked Dayal well outside off-stump to Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully, as India batters perished to a combination of bowlers’ persistence on that channel and their own carelessness.

They took the lunch at a queasy 76 for four that soon transpired into 99 for six after the dismissal of Shivam Dube and Tanush Kotian, an hour into the lunch.

However, Rahul batted out 180 minutes 121 balls and milked 42 runs for the seventh wicket with Kuldeep Yadav to delay the inevitable.

The standout shot in an otherwise dour innings was a whistling on drive off Mukesh that fetched him a boundary.

But Mukesh had his revenge soon when Rahul feathered a cut off him to Pant, who completed five catches in this innings, soon after reaching his fifty with a single off Saini.

It effectively signalled the end of the road of for India A, though Akash Deep (43, 42b, 3×4, 4×6) gave a few moments of fun with a cavalier innings.

But beyond the entertainment value, it always was a case of when more than if.

Earlier, resuming from their overnight score of 150 for six India B could only 34 runs more to the total before getting bundled out.

Pacer Akash, whom Sarfaraz Khan carted around for five fours in a row the previous day, found his mojo to add the scalps of Washington Sundar and Saini to complete a five-wicket haul (5/56).

The spell will keep his name floating among the contenders when the selectors sit together soon to pick up squad for two-match Test series against Bangladesh.

The Duleep Trophy has so far seen several top Indian in action. The domestic tournament is being seen as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming India vs Bangladesh Test series. The general view is that a good performance here will help in getting into the Indian cricket team that will play Bangladesh, Starting September 19. The India A vs India B is one such match which has seen stars like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Musheer Khan, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav play against each other. 

On Saturday, a delivery from India B’s Mukesh Kumar hit Akash Deep’s chest. Akash Deep has played one Test for India while Mukesh Kumar three Tests, six ODIs and 17 T20Is for India. Akash Deep looked to be in pain when the ball hit him. Mukesh immediately went and check on him after the incident. 

Real captain of India B : Rishabh Pant. pic.twitter.com/hIc6XkCnfZ

— PantMP4. (@indianspirit070) September 7, 2024

Meanwhile, former India wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya hailed Musheer Khan for his “strong mindset” and said the young batter will be an asset for Indian team in future if he maintains consistency.

Musheer impressed everyone, making a valiant 181 for India B against India A in the on-going Duleep Trophy at Bengaluru on Friday.

His innings and a 205-run alliance with Navdeep Saini for the eighth wicket helped India B come back from a precarious 94 for seven and post 321 in the first innings.

“What makes Musheer different is his mindset, which is very strong. I can’t predict the future but if he keeps on scoring runs consistently, he could be a very good option for the Indian team,” Dahiya told PTI videos.

Dahiya was in awe of Musheer’s consistency.

“The standout thing about his batting is his consistency. He started off from where he left the last season. He scored runs in the Ranji Trophy semifinal and final and then a hundred on the opening day of domestic cricket in 2024,” Dahiya said.

“Musheer started off as a left-arm spinner and eventually his transformation to batting reflects that, “Agar aap mehnat se kisi cheez ke peeche pad jaaye, shiddat se kisi cheez ke peeche pad jaaye to wo zarur milti hai (if you work hard for something, you will get it eventually”, he said.

Dahiya, who is the head coach of Purani Dilli 6 in the ongoing Delhi Premier League, said interacting with seniors like Rishabh Pant and Ishant Sharma was a learning experience for budding talents in the DPL.

“Rishabh Pant played just a match but the time he spent with boys in the hotel and in the practice motivated them.

“Ishant attended all the practice sessions and spent time with each of the boys. Unfortunately, he couldn’t play due to an injury,” he said.

“All the boys praised Rishabh and Ishant because they never let them feel inferior to them. Instead, they felt a sense of belongingness and it calmed their nerves,” he added. 

India A vs India B, Duleep Trophy 2024 LIVE Score: KL Rahul© AFP

Shai Hope completes the catch of Sanju Samson during IPL 2024© X (formerly Twitter)