Even before the start of the second fixture of Duleep Trophy, all the spotlight was on Suresh Raina, as it was a test for the India discarded batsman to score some runs and once again, send a message to the selectors.
Though he couldn’t play big innings, with a score of 52, Raina warmed up quite well in his first domestic innings of the season.
Coming to bat at number four, Raina shared 73 runs in 23 overs along with Hanuma Vihari and was the dominating force between the two, the number suggests.
In his innings of 52, Raina smashed a total of seven fours. When it looked like he might go onto play big innings, he was dismissed by Vijay Gohil after being caught by Priyank Panchal. He impressed on his first outing on the crease in domestic cricket after a long time and will look to continue to improve on his performance in the upcoming games.
Meanwhile, India Blue approached close to the score of India Red, courtesy Raina’s and Vihar’s half centuries. The latter is still at the crease on a score of 86* and will look to reach the three figure mark. He along with Samit Gohel provided a steady start to their team and shared 47 runs for the first wicket.
Number three batsman Manoj Tiwary couldn’t do much, as he was caught by Rishab Pant off Basil Thampi on 20. Vihari’s innings worked well for his team, and at present, he is batting alongside Deepak Hooda (23*).
Few early wickets at the start can dampen their chances of gaining a lead, whereas, a big partnership will ensure a lead and also an upper hand in the game.
Scorecard: India Blue 216/3 (Hanuma Vihari 86*, Suresh Raina 52; Vijay Gohil 1-50) vs India Red 383/10.