In what was a fast-moving day at Anantapur’s Rural Development Trust Stadium. India A took a big lead of 222 runs and were in command. After bowling out India A for 290, India D could only post 183, despite Devdutt Padikkal’s stroke-filled 92. Having taken a lead of 107, India A’s openers came out with an aggressive approach. Both scored fifties before Mayank Agarwal lost his wicket in the final over of the day, leaving his team at 115/1 at stumps.
It was another morning session dominated by the bowlers, as has often been the case in Anantapur. Harshit Rana quickly wrapped up the final two wickets in the first 15 minutes. He denied Shams Mulani a century and ensured India A didn’t cross the 300-run mark.
India D lost Atharva Taide in the very first over, with Khaleel Ahmed making full use of the new ball, swinging it both ways. A sunglasses-clad Shreyas Iyer came in next but was dismissed without scoring, caught at mid-on. He wanted to be proactive but paid the price for it. Khaleel had two wickets in his opening spell, bowling with intensity.
Padikkal and Yash Dubey tried to steady the ship, but Dubey was given out caught behind after a review. Sanju Samson followed soon after, mistiming a pull straight to Prasidh Krishna at mid-on.
Padikkal then partnered with Ricky Bhui to avoid further damage for India D. He was quick to pounce on anything short, wide, or full outside the off stump. The pair added 33 runs before lunch, with Bhui looking settled against the spinners, hitting both his boundaries off the slower bowlers. Although Padikkal started his innings briskly, the fall of regular wickets forced him to recalibrate and play more conservatively in the last 30 minutes of the session. While batting usually becomes easier after lunch at this ground, it was not the case on this occasion.
Khaleel’s second spell ended Bhui’s resistance. Agarwal gave Tanush Kotian an extended spell, and the off-spinner bowled tight lines, keeping the pressure on from one end. This resulted in the wicket of Saransh Jain, followed soon by the dismissal of Saurabh Kumar. With only three wickets left, Padikkal shifted gears, targeting Aaqib Khan.
As Aaqib began leaking runs, Agarwal brought Prasidh back into the attack from the end Aaqib was bowling from, a move that paid off, as he dismissed his Karnataka teammate. After bowling a series of short or back-of-a-length deliveries, Prasidh pitched one up, tempting Padikkal into a drive. The left-hander went for the shot but edged it to Kumar Kushagra behind the stumps.
Harshit Rana played a few attacking shots to reduce the deficit, but he couldn’t cut the lead to below 100 runs. The pitch was beginning to play a few tricks, and batting was not expected to get any easier. With a lead of 107 runs, Agarwal and Pratham Singh came in and played their strokes. They neutralised the new ball threat from Harshit and Vidhwath Kaverappa.
Agarwal brought his experience to the fore and led from the front. Pratham, who looked uncomfortable against the short-pitch deliveries, also looked organised. The left-right combination didn’t allow the bowlers to settle, especially the pacers. Without much difficulty, both completed their fifties. Just when it seemed that India A would end the day without losing a wicket, Iyer dismissed Agarwal in the last over.
Brief Scores: India A 290 (Shams Mulani 89, Tanush Kotian 53; Harshit Rana 4/51) & 115/1 (Pratham Singh 59*, Mayank Agarwal 56) vs India D 183 (Devdutt Padikkal 92, Harshit Rana 31; Khaleel Ahmed 3/39).