It was a familiar sight when Rishabh Pant raised his bat after a blazing fifty in the white jersey. The southpaw was out of action in red-ball cricket and now he has again shown why he has been perhaps the best Test batter for India in recent history.
Advantage IND B, courtesy Rishabh Pant
After India B restricted the ‘A’ team for 231 runs in the first innings, the Abhimanyu Easwaran-led side was in massive trouble. They first lost Yashasvi Jaiswal before the IND B skipper also edged one to Dhruv Jurel. Another killing blow came when last innings’ hero Musheer Khan was also sent back with a nudge outside let stump.
The team was staring down the barrel before Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant joined hands. The two stars completely turned the tide as they launched a counter-attack. While Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan and Akash Deep were nibbling the ball at will, Sarfaraz and Pant completely tore apart the attack.
The two added 72 runs in 9.1 overs, which is quite berserk as per red-ball standards. However, Sarfaraz then lost his wicket at 46 before Pant got his hundred but then squandered his innings by playing a nothing shot against Kotian. The India B lead now hovers at 240, which is quite big given the tough M Chinnaswamy conditions. Unfortunately for them, Nitish Reddy lost his wicket at the stroke
No KL Rahul show!
Earlier in the day, it was KL Rahul and Riyan Parag, who opened the Day 3. Fans were hopeful for some fireworks from them but the India B bowlers were on show today. They bowled at right areas, often troubling the world-class India A batting line-up. They were 145/2 at one point but then were skittled for just 231.
Brief scores: IND A vs IND B – Day 3
IND B 1st innings: 321/10 (Musheer Khan 181, Akash Deep 4/60)
IND A 1st innings: 231/10 (KL Rahul 37, Navdeep Saini 3/60)
IND B 2nd innings: 150/6 (after 31.3 overs) (Rishabh Pant 61, Akash Deep 2/36)
