Vikrant Shekhawat : Sep 22, 2024, 08:01 PM
Duleep Trophy: India A has won the Duleep Trophy title. Under the captaincy of Mayank Agarwal, the team achieved this feat by defeating India C by 132 runs in the last match. The match was so exciting that even Sai Sudarshan's (111) brilliant century in the last session of the last day could not save India C from defeat.Decisive momentIndia A needed 4 wickets in the last 9 overs to win. At this time Sai Sudarshan was at the crease, but fast bowler Prasidh Krishna took three wickets in a single over to give India A victory. The failure of key batsmen like captain Rituraj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan and Rajat Patidar cost India C heavily and kept them away from the title.Continuation of the matchOn Sunday, 22 September, India A declared their second innings at 286, with Riyan Parag scoring the highest 73 runs. With a 63-run lead in the first innings, India A set India C a target of 351 runs to win. Although India C had about two and a half sessions to achieve the target, the team never looked in a winning position.Gaikwad and Sudarshan's effortIndia C got off to a good start with captain Gaikwad (44) and Sai Sudarshan putting on a strong 77-run partnership for the second wicket. But when Gaikwad's wicket fell, the team's position started to weaken. After this, key batsmen like Patidar, Kishan, and Abhishek Porel got out in quick succession.Sudarshan's struggleSai Sudarshan batted brilliantly, but the pressure increased with the dismissal of his fellow batsmen. He scored a single-handed century, but all this failed to take the team towards a draw despite his efforts.Prasidh's brilliant spellIndia C needed only 9 overs to get the draw. On this occasion, Prasidh Krishna did the job with his brilliant bowling. First Shams Mulani dismissed Suthar, and then Prasidh dismissed Sudarshan and Anshul Kamboj in two consecutive overs. In this way, India A became the champion and captured the Duleep Trophy.ConclusionThis match proved that anything is possible in cricket. India A team demonstrated struggle and strength and won the title. The strategy adopted by the team under the captaincy of Mayank Agarwal was successful. Now it will be interesting to see how India C learns from its mistakes and bounces back in the next season.