Prasidh Krishna and Tanush Kotian picked up six of the last seven wickets to lead India A to victory against India C by 132 runs and helped their team win the Duleep Trophy 2024 title in Anantapur on Sunday.

Fellow Rajasthan Royals players Riyan Parag and Avesh Khan too made key contributions earlier in the match for India A.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Tanush Kotian (@tanush_kotian)

Put into bat first, India A made 297 in the first innings after tottering at 154/7 with Shashwat Rawat’s hundred and Avesh Khan’s unbeaten 51, with the duo’s 90 runs for the eighth wicket, rescuing their side. Prasidh Krishna’s quickfire 34 helped too.

India C made 234 in return, headlined by Abishek Porel’s 82. Avesh Khan (3/64) and Aaqib Khan (3/43) took six wickets between them.

India A declared their second innings at 286/8, with Riyan Parag firing a 73 (101b, 5x4, 1x6) and Gaurav Yadav registering four wickets, to set a target of 350 runs.

The match was poised interestingly at tea, with India C at 169/3 in their chase needing another 182 runs in the last session. Sai Sudharsan and Ishan Kishan were at the crease at the time.

But Kotian’s off-spin sparked a collapse. He dismissed Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Porel in successive overs. A little later, he sent back Pulkit Narang.

When Prasidh Krishna sent back top-scorer Sai Sudarshan for 111, India C were 216/8. Krishna then dismissed Baba Indrajith and Anshul Kamboj for ducks in the final stages of the day.

“As long as (Sudarshan) batted, we knew they would draw the game,” Prasidh was quoted saying by the Indian Express. “So the plan was to target his partners.

“I decided to bowl bouncers. If (Sudarshan) hooks or pulls, so be it, boundaries did not matter at that stage. We just wanted to bowl at the rest,”

India C collapsed to 217 all out, losing their last seven wickets for just 43 runs. Prasidh Krishna (3/50) and Tanush Kotian (3/47) played a pivotal role, claiming six of those wickets between them.

India C topped the Duleep Trophy 2024 standings with 12 points.

In the India B vs India D match, Navdeep Saini recorded his career-best bowling figures in first-class cricket with a haul of 8/132 in Anantapur.

Earlier, Saini picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings as India D wrapped up for 349 with the help of Sanju Samson’s century. Restricted by Saurabh Kumar’s fifer, India B could only respond with a 282, led by captain Abhimanyu Easwaran’s ton.

India D managed to score 305 in the second innings, aided by Ricky Bhui’s unbeaten 115, captain Shreyas Iyer’s fifty and Sanju Samson’s 45 (53b, 5x4, 2x6), to set a target of 373 for the win.

Mukesh Kumar scalped 4/98 while the 31-year-old Navdeep Saini got 3/58 in 16 overs.

However, India B were bundled out for just 115 in the chase, after Arshdeep Singh struck with a career-best 6/40 to hand India D a mammoth 257-run win.

Earlier this month, Navdeep Saini conjured up his highest first-class score of 56 against India A in the Duleep Trophy.