India B opener Abhimanyu Easwaran remained steadfast, scoring a resolute century to help his team reach 309 for 7 against India C in their Duleep Trophy match on Saturday. Despite Easwaran’s unbeaten 143, India B still trails by 216 runs and needs 66 more runs to avoid a follow-on, with only three wickets remaining.
India C had earlier posted a towering total of 525 in their first innings, bolstered by a century from Ishan Kishan.
Day 3 of the match was dominated by India B skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran, who crafted a patient 143 off 262 balls amid a flurry of wickets. India C pacer Anshul Kamboj delivered a destructive spell, claiming five wickets for 66 runs in 23.5 overs, leaving Easwaran’s team struggling.
Despite the collapse of wickets at the other end, Bengal batter Easwaran remained resolute, continuing to frustrate the India C bowlers. However, he will need to continue his efforts on Sunday to help avoid a follow-on.
Starting the day at 124 for no loss, with Easwaran (overnight 51 not out) and Narayan Jagadeesan (overnight 67 not out) anchoring India B, the team was quickly unsettled when Kamboj made an early breakthrough in the fourth over of the morning session.
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The 23-year-old Haryana pacer, who featured in a few IPL matches for the Mumbai Indians last season, dismissed the dangerous Jagadeesan. The Tamil Nadu batter, who had added just three runs to his overnight score, was caught by wicket-keeper Abhishek Porel for 70, thus ending their 129-run partnership.
Kamboj then dismissed the Khan brothers, Musheer and Sarfaraz, for 1 and 16 runs respectively, before taking out hard-hitter Rinku Singh (6) and Nithis Kumar Reddy (2), further destabilizing India B.
At 194 for 5, Easwaran’s side faced a daunting situation, but the skipper stepped up to stabilize the innings despite facing aggressive bowling from Kamboj. He forged a 43-run partnership with Washington Sundar (13) and followed it with a 46-run stand with Sai Kishore (21), helping to repair the damage.
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