The first round of the Duleep Trophy 2024 is underway at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and Anantapur, where some of the notable players of India have featured in the domestic set-up as they look to prepare for their home season, which will start with the two-match Test series against Bangladesh.
The four teams were captained by Shubman Gill (India A), Abhimanyu Easwaran (India B), Ruturaj Gaikwad (India C), and Shreyas Iyer (India D). Gaikwad’s team has registered a nervy victory in their first game against Iyer’s side, where the former showed great captaincy in the second innings with an aggressive mindset.
Easwaran’s team grabbed a vital 90-run lead in the first innings after they showed some great spells of bowling thanks to the three-wicket hauls each from Mukesh Kumar and Navdeep Saini. He was quite good with his leadership as he rotated the bowler in a pretty good way.
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The former Indian coach of the Women’s side, WV Raman, was commenting during the game in Bengaluru, where he was satisfied with the way the wicket-keeper batter of the Easwaran-led side, Rishabh Pant, conducted the batters and bowlers in the middle. The Delhi-born wasn’t, however, the appointed leader of the tournament.
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Raman was in awe with how Pant was active in the middle despite missing the red-ball action for such a long time. He had a special chat with Saini in the middle, after which the pacer picked up three wickets in the first innings of the game.
In fact, on the final ball of the over, which Pant discussed with the pacer, the latter dismissed Dhruv Jurel.
“It doesn’t matter who is the captain. Rishabh Pant has always been a leader in the field. The chat he had in the break. He suggested a few things to Saini, and looks like it has worked.” WV Raman highlighted this during the commentary session.
The left-handed batter played his last Test for India towards the end of 2022, before he met an unfortunate accident and was ruled out of action for more than a year. He made his comeback in comparative back through the recent season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and also featured in the T20 World Cup 2024.
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In the first innings of the Duleep Trophy 2024 game, he failed to contribute with the bat. The 26-year-old started with a boundary as he cut the short ball through the square region. But he looked to keep the same aggression and was caught by Gill, who grabbed a great catch running backward.
In the second innings of the game, Pant, due to the situation of the game, played his natural game and collected 61 runs in 47 deliveries with the help of nine boundaries and a couple of sixes at a strike rate of 130. He will eye to make a comeback for India when they face Bangladesh in a two-match Test series, starting on September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.