Bowlers all but seal India Blue's entry into final

India Blue 707 (Pujara 166, Agarwal 161, Jackson 105, Shreyas 5-173) and 85 for 0 (Agarwal 49*, Gambhir 36*) lead India Green 237 (Parthiv 55, Raina 52, Mithun 3-16, Karn Sharma 3-74) by 555 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

After grinding India Green down on the first two days by posting 707, India Blue turned in a masterful effort on the field to skittle their opponents for 237 in 61 overs on the third day of the Duleep Trophy league fixture in Greater Noida. A first-innings lead was enough to ensure a berth in the final for the Gautam Gambhir-led India Blue against India Red.

India Blue, perhaps mindful of giving their bowlers proper rest ahead of the five-day finale from September 10, opted for some batting practice instead of enforcing the follow-on. Their in-form openers Mayank Agarwal and Gambhir, who put together 212 in the first innings, were still together at stumps as India Blue, who ended on 85 without loss, extended their lead to 555 with 90 overs to play.

With the result of the clash all but decided, Suresh Raina's boys will need a herculean effort to prevent another day of toil when play resumes.

India Green, with an opportunity to start afresh after a disappointing bowling display, were up against it almost immediately as they lost M Vijay in the fourth over when he was deceived in flight and was bowled by Karn Sharma's skidder. They continued to lose wickets in clumps from there on, even as Robin Uthappa briefly sparkled with 41, before a futile attempt at a cut shot to a full delivery resulted in a wicket for Pankaj Singh.

A 78-run stand for the fifth wicket between Shreyas Gopal and Saurabh Tiwary ensued, before Abhimanyu Mithun removed his Karnataka team-mate Shreyas with a delivery that held its line to take the outside edge. When Parthiv Patel fell off the first ball of the next over to Pankaj for a well-crafted 55, the innings was on freefall at 168 for 6.

With just the tailenders for company, Raina, who came in to bat at No. 7 because of an illness that kept him off the field for most parts of the second day, swung his way to a half-century before becoming the penultimate batsman to be dismissed. The innings folded soon after when Karn had Pragyan Ojha lbw. Karn and Mithun were rewarded with three wickets, while Pankaj had two.