Musheer Khan's masterful ton guides India B to 202/7 against India A

Rishabh Pants muchawaited return to redball cricket lasted a mere 10 balls and 15 minutes but Musheer Khans resolute unbeaten hundred carried India B to a satisfactory 202 for seven against India A on the opening day of the fourday Duleep Trophy contest on ThursdayBefore Musheer 105 not out 227b 10x4 2x6 and Navdeep Saini 29 not out 74b 4x4 1x6 fought back for India B with a stand of 108 for the eighth wicket they were in a huge hole at 94 for seven as A skipper Shubman Gill made the prudent choice of bowling first under overcast skiesBut Musheer younger brother of Sarfaraz Khan 9 saved his side from a total collapse with an innings of rare maturity that belied his 19 tender yearsWhen the righthander entered the field at No 3 in the 14th over after the fall of Abhimayu Easwaran the bowlers were right on top as a canopy of dark clouds hung over the ChinnaswamyMusheer Khan brings up his A special celebration and a special appreciation from brother Sarfaraz Khan DuleepTrophy IDFCFIRSTBankFollow the match httpstcoeQyu38Erb1 pictwittercom92lj578cAsmdash BCCI Domestic BCCIdomestic September 5 2024Easwaran usually a tightly organised batter played a casual waft outside the offstump off Avesh Khan and stumper Dhruv Jurel completed a superb diving catch just in front of KL Rahul at first slipMusheer had more than one worries to nullify There was appreciable bounce carry and movement for the India A pacers who operated for a large part of the dayBut Musheer tackled each of those difficulties in his own way as him walking down the track to nullify the movement was a rather curious sight It was unconventional but was effective on the dayHowever even on a tough day Musheer who is making his Duleep Trophy debut gave glimpse of his elegant self through a wonderful ondrive off Avesh that sped to the fence and a withering cut off leftarm seamer Khaleel Ahmed 239There was an element of power too when the righthander hammered spinner Tanush Kotian for a couple of sixes in an over to move into the 90sMusheer received a slice of fortune too when Avesh dropped a regulation chance off his own bowling when the batter was on 69 India B was on 144 for seven thenThe Mumbai lad who also had a wonderful Under19 World Cup and Ranji Trophy season duly brought up his hundred off 205 balls with a single off Kuldeep Yadav which he celebrated with gustoAlso Read Duleep Trophy Ishan Kishan unlikely for firstround matchSaini too should be given a pat on his back for showing guts to stay along with Musheer as the India A bowlers lost their sting and direction in the final session of the dayBut before the MusheerSaini combine dragged them back into the match several B batters were also careless in their shot selection and none exemplified it more than PantHis first redball stint since December 2022 ended when his effort to cream Akash Deep off a fuller delivery resulted in a leading edge which Gill converted into a superb running catchYashasvi Jaiswal looked in good touch during his 59ball 30 that contained six wellexecuted boundaries including a crisp cover drive off Khaleel but a moment of indiscretion ended his stayJaiswal looked to cut Khaleel past the fielder at point but there was not enough space to play that shot as substitute Shashwat Kumar held on to a fine catchAkash then produced the ball of the day to dismiss Nitish Kumar Reddy the delivery pitched on middle and off moved ever so slightly to knock down the bails as the batter walked back with a firstball zilchWashington Sundar backed up too far to get run out as India B innings hit the freefall buttonBut Musheer and Saini helped India B to carve their best session of the day in the final passage of play to temporarily slip out of troubleBrief scores India B 2027 in 79 overs Yashasvi Jaiswal 30 Musheer Khan 105 Khaleel Ahmed 239 Akash Deep 228 Avesh Khan 242 vs India AWith agency inputs