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Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Bhui and Iyer lead India D's charge

Ricky Bhui in action PTI

India D 349 and 244 for 5 (Bhui 90*, Iyer 50, Samson 45, Mukesh 3-80) lead India B 282 (Easwaran 116, Washington 87, Saurabh Kumar 5-73) by 311 runs

Shreyas Iyer hit a quickfire fifty, Sanju Samson a brisk 45 and Ricky Bhui a stodgy unbeaten 90 as India D had the ascendancy over India B in the final Duleep Trophy fixture in Anantapur. Already out of reckoning for the title, India D are 311 ahead with five second-innings wickets left.

Resuming on 210 for 6, India B stretched their total to 282. A majority of those runs came courtesy Washington Sundar, who top scored with 87. Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar picked up all four wickets to fall in the day, finishing with figures of 5 for 73, his 25th five-for in first-class cricket.

India D's second innings began with a flurry of wickets as Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar reduced them to 18 for 3. It's at this point that Iyer, who was out for a five-ball duck in the first innings, decided to counterattack. He hit seven fours and a six across 39 deliveries before becoming Mukesh's third wicket.

Samson, the first-innings centurion, kicked on to make his start count, putting together a 68-run stand with Bhui. The sixth-wicket stand between Bhui and Akash Sengupta was worth 94 when stumps were called.

Currently second on the table, India B face an uphill task of trying to win the title. For them to have a shot, they need to win outright and then hope neither India C nor India A win outright.

India B 4th innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st31AR EaswaranN Jagadeesan
2nd3AR EaswaranSS Prabhudessai
3rd1AR EaswaranMusheer Khan
4th4SA YadavAR Easwaran
5th35SA YadavK Nitish Kumar Reddy
6th5Washington SundarK Nitish Kumar Reddy
7th15RD ChaharK Nitish Kumar Reddy
8th5K Nitish Kumar ReddyMA Avasthi
9th8NA SainiK Nitish Kumar Reddy
10th8Mukesh KumarK Nitish Kumar Reddy