India B vs India C Day 3 LIVE Score, Duleep Trophy 2024© X (Twitter)

Ishan Kishan marked his First-Class return after well over a year with a wonderful hundred, the backbone of India C’s day one total of 357 for five against India B in the Duleep Trophy match in Anantpur on Thursday. Kishan’s 111 (126b, 14×4, 3×6) lifted India C from a slightly wobbly 97 two after they lost Rajat Patidar (40) and B Sai Sudharsan (43) in quick succession. The innings also underlined the fitness of the 26-year-old, who was originally in India D squad, as he missed the first round of Duleep Trophy with a groin injury.

Sanju Samson was drafted in as Kishan’s replacement in India D squad, necessitating the redrafting of the former into India C.

Cutting back to the match, India C’s situation was compounded by skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s return to the hut with an ankle niggle after facing just two balls.

However, any major concern over Gaikwad’s fitness was allayed when he came out to bat after Kishan’s dismissal, making an unbeaten 46 (50b, 7×4, 2×6) to guard the crease along with Manav Suthar (8 batting).

But the day belonged to Kishan, who added another solid brick to his comeback trial into red-ball cricket.

The left-hander had made a hundred in Jharkhand’s opening round win over Madhya Pradesh in the recently concluded Buchi Babu Invitational tournament in Tamil Nadu.

That game in Coimbatore was his first red-ball match after the Test against the West Indies at Port of Spain in July 2023, and he carried on with his redemption act here as well.

He had Baba Indrajith (78, 136b, 9×4) for the company as the pair milked 189 runs for the third wicket stand to take India C to a commanding position.

Indrajith also had a slice of fortune as the Tamil Nadu batter had edged pacer Navdeep Saini to Sarfaraz Khan at slips just before lunch, and he walked off.

But Indrajith was called back to resume batting as Saini had overstepped during that delivery.

However, all this drama at the other end did not ruffle Kishan as he continued to dismantle India B bowlers.

Kishan played late and close to his body to nip the early movement and it was evidenced in the 10 boundaries he got across square and fine leg regions.

He had to make that technical adjustment as spinners – R Sai Kishore and Rahul Chahar – bowled just 17 overs between them this day.

Occasionally, power overshadowed his general finesse on the day as well, as whenever the opportunity presented itself, the left-hander was not hesitant to flex his muscles.

He hammered Saini for two sixes in the fine leg region and once lifted Mukesh Kumar over mid-wicket for maximums.

Eventually, he was bowled by pacer Mukesh, the most successful India bowler with three wickets, but he has already placed India C in a position of strength.

After Kishan’s departure, India C received a further move-on as Gaikwad came back and added some quick runs to push India B against the wall.

Brief score: India C: 357/5 in 79 overs (Ishan Kishan 111, Baba Indrajith 78, Ruturaj Gaikwad 46 batting; Mukesh Kumar 3/76) vs India B.

A setback for India C, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad retired hurt after facing just two balls in their Duleep Trophy 2024 match against India B at the Rural Development Trust Stadium B in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh on Thursday. Gaikwad, who managed to hit a four on the first ball he faced, twisted his ankle on the next delivery and was forced to leave the field. India B won the toss and opted to bowl first, putting India C on the back foot early. Despite the early blow of losing their captain, India C managed to recover with a solid partnership between Sai Sudharsan and Rajat Patidar.

However, Gaikwad, who is the Chennai Super Kings captain, came on to bat later on.

Sudharsan scored 43 runs off 75 balls, while Patidar contributed 40 runs from 67 balls. The duo shared a crucial 92-run stand for the second wicket, facing 140 balls in total.

After their promising partnership, both batters were dismissed in quick succession, leaving Ishan Kishan and Baba Indrajith to rebuild the innings.

Reports said that Gaikwad twisted his ankle while running after facing a delivery from pacer Mukesh Kumar. Although he had to retire hurt, the injury is not considered serious, and he is expected to bat in the second innings. Gaikwad has had a challenging period in his red-ball cricket career recently.

The 27-year-old was named in India’s Test squad for the two-match series against South Africa last December but was ruled out due to a finger injury. In his first-class career, Gaikwad has played 30 games, amassing 2,092 runs with six centuries and ten fifties.

His first-class, List A, and T20 debuts came during the 2016-17 season for Maharashtra. Captain of India B Abhimanyu Easwaran won the toss and elected to bowl first.

India C’s: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Ishan Kishan, Baba Indrajith, Abhishek Porel (Wk), Anshul Kamboj, Mayank Markande, Manav Suthar, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, and Sandeep Warrier.

India B: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Narayan Jagadeesan (Wk), Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Navdeep Saini, Rahul Chahar, and Mukesh Kumar.

India B vs India C Day 1 LIVE, Duleep Trophy 2024© X (Twitter)

India B vs India C Day 1 LIVE, Duleep Trophy 2024© X (Twitter)

The Duleep Trophy 2024 match between India C and India D at the Rural Development Trust Stadium in Anantapur saw a massive security breach as a fan entered the field and touched the feet of Ruturaj Gaikwad. Gaikwad is the captain of India C and the fan entered the field of play from the stands and the picture of the entire incident has gone viral on social media. Duleep Trophy generally happens among zonal teams but this time, the format is different as four teams have been made with a number of Indian cricket team stars taking part. It is important for young talents as they have the opportunity to make their case ahead of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh starting September 19.

A fan touched the feet of Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad during the Duleep Trophy match.

– The Craze for Rutu…!!!!! pic.twitter.com/YgRjI9OHII

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 6, 2024

Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal has emphasized on consistency as he focuses on red-ball cricket at the ongoing Duleep Trophy while preparing for the upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh.

The 22-year-old, who has become a key player in India’s red-ball squad, scored 30 off 50 balls for India ‘B’ in their Duleep Trophy match against India ‘A’ in Bengaluru on Thursday.

“It’s a great opportunity whenever we have the chance to play the Duleep or Ranji Trophy. I’m really looking forward to that, and I hope I’ll enjoy my game. I’ll try my best,” he told JioCinema.

Looking ahead to India’s World Test Championship campaign, Jaiswal, who has played nine Tests since his debut, said, “Every match is important because of the World Test Championship. You have to make sure you give your best as every win counts.

“Any opportunity to play for India is incredible, and representing the country is the biggest motivation that I have.” “I have worked hard to keep up my form and continue to do so to ensure I maintain it. The more consistent I stay with my practice and preparation, my results will improve. I don’t overthink, I just need to prepare well and keep improving myself as a player. The more I repeat these steps, the better I’ll get.” India are set to host Bangladesh, New Zealand, and England during the 2024-25 home season, starting with the series against Bangladesh on September 19.

“I think they’ve been playing well. It’ll be fun to match up with them. It’s fun to play Test matches regardless. I’m really looking forward to that,” Jaiswal said. 

(With PTI inputs)

Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir in press conference© PTI

Ruturaj Gaikwad wasn’t picked for India’s tour of Sri Lanka© X (Twitter)

Veteran Indian spinner Amit Mishra touched upon some of the most controversial topics in Indian cricket during a chat on a podcast. While speaking of the KL Rahul-Sanjeev Goenka incident to the Virat Kohli–Gautam Gambhir row, Mishra shed light on some highly talked-about topics in the sport. He also shared his views on Shubman Gill‘s elevation as India skipper, for the recently-concluded T20I series against Zimbabwe, saying he doesn’t feel the opening batter should’ve been given the responsibility. For Mishra, Ruturaj Gaikwad remains a better option in all aspects, even as a batter.

During a chat on Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast on YouTube, Mishra had no hesitation in suggesting that he wouldn’t have made Gill India’s T20 captain for the Zimbabwe series. The veteran spinner admitted that the decision was a surprising one.

“Mai Shubman ko captain nahi banaunga, kyonki maine usey IPL me dekha, he doesn’t know ki captaincy kaise karna hai, uske paas captaincy ka idea hi nahi hai. (I would not have made him the captain. You saw the IPL this season, Gill doesn’t know how to captain the side, he is clueless),” he said on the show.

“Just because he is a part of the Indian team, he shouldn’t be made the captain. Gill has done well in the IPL over the last few seasons, he did fine in the Indian team as well. The Indian team made him the captain as they want to give him the leadership experience, which wasn’t visible when he led Gujarat Titans in IPL,” he added.

Amit Mishra said, “I’ve seen him (Shubman Gill) in the IPL, and he doesn’t know how to do captaincy. He has no idea about captaincy. Why they made him captain is a question. Just because he’s in the Indian team doesn’t mean he should be made captain.”

pic.twitter.com/7D9nf9aSpe

— (@SergioCSKK) July 15, 2024

Speaking of the captaincy options in the shortest format, Mishra cited the names of Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, and Ruturaj Gaikwad as some of the other options. While Gaikwad was a part of the Zimbabwe T20Is series since the beginning, Samson joined the team in the second match.

“There’s Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Ruturaj Gaikwad who can lead India in T20Is. Right now, the BCCI is only looking to assess all option,” he said on being asked about the reason behind Gill’s elevation to the leadership role.

Everyone Favours Someone

“Everyone has some liking”, Mishra said on being asked if Rahul Dravid‘s ‘favouritism’ got him India captaincy. “I am not a Shubman Gill hater, I also like him. But, I feel Ruturaj is a better option because he has scored runs in tougher situations, be it for Chennai Super Kings or during the Asian Games. He is a good option, should be kept with the team, the way Yashasvi Jaiswal was with the Indian side at the T20 World Cup.”

“He is someone who can deliver in T20Is, ODIs and Tests. The most important thing is, who brings calmness to the team? He doesn’t play risky shots much. He should hire a good manager (for social media PR),” he further explained.

India vs Zimbabwe Live Streaming 4th T20I Live Telecast: When And Where To Watch Match Live© AFP