India B fight past Rahul's defiance to register comfortable win

For over three hours on the final day of the Duleep Trophy game in Bengaluru, KL Rahul's discipline kept India B waiting. Victory had seemed a mere formality post lunch when India A stumbled to 99 for 6 chasing 275. Rahul, who walked into bat at No. 4, denied himself runs he would pocket on most days because he wasn't willing to be lulled into driving on the up even with cover vacant.

It meant the scoreboard came to a standstill. Rahul battled for 99 deliveries for a half-century, even going 55 balls without a boundary at one stage. But when he saw width from Mukesh Kumar, he couldn't resist a cut. The ball gripped a hint onto the surface to take the edge as Rishabh Pant dived forward to complete the catch. Rahul's 121-ball vigil that brought him 57 was over and India B went on to win by 76 runs.

The margin of victory could have been a lot bigger if not for Akash Deep's enterprising 43, which wasn't the only highlight for him. His 5 for 56 earlier in the day ensured India B were bowled out for 184 after pocketing a 90-run first-innings lead. This included the wickets of Abhimanyu Easwaran, first-innings centurion Musheer Khan and Washington Sundar.

Akash finished with a match haul of 9 for 116 to put himself in the frame for the Bangladesh Tests which begin in 11 days as the third fast bowler in the squad. Among the other quicks to make an impression was left-arm fast bowler Yash Dayal, whose 3 for 50 triggered India A's second innings slide.

He had Mayank Agarwal nicking to second slip in his first over when he got one to move away appreciably off the seam to square him up. Dayal had his second when Riyan Parag feathered a drive to Pant. He celebrated the wicket with a send-off after not taking too kindly Parag's adventurous short-arm jab that flew over midwicket for six. Dayal's third came shortly before lunch when Dhruv Jurel's loose drive away from the body flew low to Yashavi Jaiswal.

In between Dayal's carnage, Navdeep Saini, who made quite an impression with his ability to bring the length ball back in, had Shubman Gill caught behind with a loose drive. The match seemed to be heading for a quick finish until Rahul's obstinance took centerstage. This perhaps stemmed from wanting to make up for his first-innings lapse, when he was out attempting a cute paddle sweep off Washington Sundar after battling his way to 37.

Losing a clutch of wickets left Rahul with two options: going for runs or looking to take the game into the final session. He chose the second option. It wasn't necessarily entertaining, but his willingness to put a price on his wicket on a surface Akash felt was "getting more and more tougher" stood out.

However, on the positive side, at least from an Indian standpoint, there was also perhaps no bigger endorsement of Rahul's match fitness, considering he was playing his first red-ball game in over seven months. That said, it wasn't all dour defence There were two on-drives that oozed class, a cut shot that sped to the fence. He hit seven fours in all.

Akash's slogs provided some late fireworks, but the fun ended when he was run out after losing his balance attempting to fend a bumper, with Musheer Khan at short leg flicking the ball back onto the stumps. India A were bowled out for 198 in 53 overs. Dayal apart, Saini picked up two wickets to go with his three from the first innings, while Nitish Reddy and Washington picked up a wicket apiece.