Sanju Samson rescued India D with a brilliant unbeaten fifty against India B in the Duleep Trophy 2024 final-round fixtures on Thursday. The star wicketkeeper batter smashed a quick 89* to boost India D to a challenging total of 306 for 5 at the end of Day 1 in Anantapur.
Captain Shreyas Iyer registered a five-ball duck as he continued for consistency in red-ball cricket. Iyer also registered a duck against India A in the second-round fixture after being dropped from India's squad for the ongoing Test series against Bangladesh.
However, Iyer's poor show was overshadowed by Samson's brilliant innings batting at No.6 for India D. He scored 89* off just 83 balls with the help of ten fours and three sixes to return to the form. Samson scored 45 runs across two innings against India A in his last match and remains out of contention for India's Test squad.
Earlier in the match, Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat and Ricky Bhui registered a fifty each but were not able to convert it into big innings. In-form spinner Rahul Chahar picked three wickets, including a big wicket of Shreyas, while Navdeep Saining and Mukesh Kumar bagged one each for India D.
India B vs India D Full Scorecard
In the other Duleep Trophy fixture, Mayank Agarwal-led India A was restricted to just 244 for seven by India C at the end of Day 1's play. Mayank Agarwal's India A witnessed an early collapse but young left-handed batter Shahswat Rawat registered a valiant unbeaten century by scoring 122 runs off 235 balls to single-handedly lead India A to a fighting total.
Rawat and in-form bowling all-rounder Shams Mulani added 87 runs for the sixth wicket after India A stumbled to 36 for 5 in the first 20 overs. Rawat stayed unbeaten but Mulani missed out on his fifty by six runs.
Last game's hero and the tournament's leading wicket-taker Anshul Kamboj took the highest three wickets while Karntaka's ace pacer Vijaykumar Vyshak claimed two for Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India C.
