India B secured their second win on the trot after they defeated Tamil Nadu by 32 runs in the second match of the Deodhar Trophy. It was a straightforward win for the India B as the TN batsmen’s extra casual approach while chasing a target proved too costly for them in the dying overs.
India B posted a commanding 316/8 in 50 overs after skipper Parthiv Patel won the toss and decided to put his opposition to field first. The foundation of such a match-winning total was laid out by Manish Pandey’ 26th first class century and half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Akshar Patel.
In reply, Tamil Nadu never got in the rhythm and were bundled out for 284. The chase was never on for TN despite being led well Kaushik Gandhi who smashed a wonderful century. The rest of the TN batsmen, unfortunately, could give him proper support.
Opting to bat first, India B lost Parthiv in the fourth over of the 1st innings. But, the new man in Manish Pandey then swung into action and put up two superb stands. The first one came with the in-form Shikhar Dhawan which saw the duo add 86 runs for the second wicket before the latter departed.
Left-arm spinner Sai Kishore, however, pushed the brakes on the partnership with the wicket of Dhawan, snapping the former India opener just after the completion of his fifty. India B suffered a small collapse sort of situation where they lost G Poddar and Ishank Jaggi in short successions. From being 100/1, the batting side was now down to 138/3.
But, before TN could take any advantage of the opening all-rounder Akshar Patel (51) produced a sensible knock. Batting along with Manish Pandey, he added 98 runs for the 5th wicket before the getting stumped by Sai Kishore in the 38th over. Pandey also went on to complete his century but could not stand till the end of the innings and lost his wicket just after celebrating his century. Gurkeerat Singh and Akshay Karnewar played useful cameos to propel the batting side to 30+ score.
Tamil Nadu could not withstand the bowling attack featuring the likes of Dhawal Kulkarni and Akshar Patel. The efficiency of India B’s bowling attack meant, the TN side’s chasing effort never took off despite opener Gandhi hitting 124. Only N Jagadeesan (64) was able to produce a knock of any worth. The pair batted well together and added 114 for the second wicket before Indian B bowler began making inroads and hampered the chase with timely blows.
Brief Scores:
India B: 316/8 in 50 overs (Manish Pandey 104; Sai Kishore 4/60)
Tamil Nadu: 284 all out in 48.4 overs (KM Gandhi 124; Dhawal Kulkarni 3/45)