As India D headed to lunch on Day 3, a few slumped shoulders began to show. With India C needing just 124 runs and having eight wickets in hand, it was going to take a remarkable comeback from India D to bowl out their opposition. Saransh Jain’s four wickets in the second session sparked a revival, offering a faint hope, but Abishek Porel’s resilience ensured India C comfortably chased down the target, wrapping up the match within three days. The victory earned India C six points, propelling them to the top of the points table.o
After setting a target of 233, for India D to stage a comeback and win the game, they needed someone to deliver a spell similar to what Manav Suthar did from the previous day. Expectations were high for Axar Patel, but he fell short of delivering. While he did challenge the batters at times, he failed to take enough breakthroughs. The India C batters were proactive, seizing their chances. With the rough outside the off-stump, both Axar and Saransh were expected to make life difficult for the India C batters in the fourth innings, but only Saransh managed to threaten both edges and earn rewards, while Axar struggled to turn the ball.
The conditions were ideal for spinners, but Axar’s lengths were either too short or too full. The spin duo of Saransh and Axar couldn’t halt the flow of runs. Credit must be given to the India C batters for not allowing the bowlers to settle into their ideal lengths on a pitch that offered assistance to both pacers and spinners.
At one point, Saransh’s two wickets appeared to revive the morale in the India D camp, but Aryan Juyal and Rajat Patidar’s steady partnership soon shifted momentum back in favour of India C. The tone was set by openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sai Sudharsan, who found the boundary with ease right from the start of the chase. Both Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sai Sudharsan were hitting the fence regularly, with little movement from the new ball for India D’s seamers to exploit.
Gaikwad and Sudharsan continued to score effortlessly, surviving the first ten overs as runs came at over 6 runs per over. This forced Shreyas Iyer to bring on his spinners early. The introduction of spin slowed the scoring rate, and with the brakes applied, a dismissal seemed inevitable, which eventually came with Sudharsan’s wicket. Gaikwad, in great touch and closing in on his fifty, was undone by an arm ball of Saransh.
Patidar and Juyal then took India C past 100, stabilising the innings after two quick wickets. Juyal adopted an aggressive approach against Saransh, using the sweep shot effectively and even hitting him down the ground. Saransh created a chance to dismiss Juyal, but Ricky Bhui couldn’t hold on to the catch.
Before the lunch break, it was Juyal who was taking the risks, while after the break, Rajat Patidar took charge, making run-scoring appear effortless. Juyal, meanwhile, rotated the strike effectively. Their partnership made it seem as though India C would comfortably chase down the target. However, against the flow of play, Patidar fell to a big shot off Saransh, ending an 88-run third-wicket stand. As the saying goes, one wicket brings another, and soon after, Juyal followed Patidar back to the dugout. Baba Indrajith and Hrithik Shokeen also gave away their wickets cheaply. It was then left to Abishek Porel and Suthar to guide the team to victory.
Brief scores: India C 168 (Baba Indrajith 72; Harshit Rana 4/33) & 233/6 (Aryan Juyal 47; Saransh Jain 4/92) beat India D 164 (Axar Patel 86; Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/19) & 236/10 (Devdutt Padikkal 56; Manav Suthar 7/49) by four wickets.