India A displayed an impressive all-round show to take control of the Duleep Trophy 2024 second-round fixture against India D in Anantapur on Friday, September 13. Fast bowlers Khaleel Ahmed and Aaqib Khan shone to bowl out India D to 183 and then openers Mayank Agarwal and Pratham Singh scored brilliant fifties each to put India A in the dominant position at the end of Day 2.
Starting Day 2 from 288/8, India A managed to add just two more runs to their first innings total in the first session. Shams Mulani missed his century by 11 runs but emerged as the leading run-getter for his team. The star pacer Harshit Rana picked 4 wickets for 51 while Arshdeep Singh and Vidwath Kaverappa claimed two each for India D.
In-form Khaleel Ahmed then stunned India D by removing Atharva Taide and Shreyas Iyer early in the opening session. Shreyas' inconsistent form continued as he was dismissed for a seven-ball duck. India D batters struggled against pace but Devdutt Padikkal stood strong to prove his worth.
The left-handed batter scored brilliant 92 runs off just 124 balls to keep the runs flowing but lacked support from the other end. The returning Prasidh Krishna denied Padikkal his century to claim his only wicket in the innings.
The young pacer Aaqib Khan also made an impressive impact with three wickets, including a big wicket for Sanju Samson who scored just five runs. Khaleel emerged as the best bowler with three wickets for 39 as India D's first innings collapsed to a 183 total in 52.1 overs.
After taking a strong 107-run lead in the first innings, India A openers Mayank Agarwal and Pratham Singh dominated the rest of the day. Both batters scored impressive half-centuries with Pratham remaining unbeaten on 59 runs off 82 balls.
Bowling his first-ever ball in the game, Shreyas dismissed Mayank by taking a brilliant catch on a follow-through and then umpires called stumps. Mayank scored 56 runs off 87 balls to help India A post a total of 115/1 in 28.1 overs and extend lead to 222 runs.
