The pitch lost its green cover only marginally but the mindset of the players underwent an enormous transformation as India Red, propelled by professionally constructed centuries from Abhinav Mukund and Sudip Chatterjee, gave an improved account of itself on the second day of the Duleep Trophy league match at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex here on Tuesday.
The second-wicket stand of 240 set the team on the path to a fightback.
What a striking contrast to the inaugural day it was! There was discipline in the batting approach and sanity was restored in the middle as the bowlers had to earn their rewards the hard way.
The batsmen, having put value on their wickets, did not repeat the mistakes of the first day. There was a method to their approach, and India Red made light of a 10-run deficit and showed tenacity to give the contest the status it deserved by finishing the day at 344 for three.
Abhinav’s 22nd First-Class century was as well-constructed as the preceding ones. It gave his team the space to make a match of it and helped him establish his credentials as a technically accomplished batsman in this grade.
He did not compromise with the situation by looking to just grind. He backed himself to play his shots, and they all came off, reflecting his confidence at the crease.
Nathu Singh — a wonderful athlete, raw and brimming with energy — claimed all the three wickets to finish with six for 53 as India Green added 35 runs to its overnight score of 116 for seven before handing the stage back to India Red.
Nathu did not compromise on pace and returned rich figures to raise hopes of an India cap in the long season that lies ahead.
Abhinav and K.S. Bharat adopted a positive stance. If the ball pleaded to be hit they did not disappoint it.
The batsmen had little trouble in spotting the ball but it was the batsmen’s temperament that made an impression. Once they had resolved to apply themselves their job became easier, and India Green realised soon that it was up against a transformed opposition.
It was poor shot selection that cost Bharat his wicket. He had decided to take on Ankit Rajpoot, a wiry but lively new ball bowler. The encouragement for Bharat had come from the swung six off Ashok Dinda, going after Rajpoot, who crashed through his defence to hit the middle stump, proved unwise.
Abhinav and Chatterjee, complementing each other superbly, took over in style and put the contest on a meaningful course.
Abhinav’s quality at the crease has never been in doubt, and he gave ample display of it this evening. Some glittering strokes left the bowlers admiring his work, and the century was a benchmark he set for the remaining period of the tournament.
He did succeed in dispelling any apprehensions the rest might have had of the pink ball under floodlights.
Chatterjee, in hitting his sixth century, complemented his partner with a well-crafted knock that should set the trend for him this season.
The scores:
India Red — 1st innings: 161
India Green — 1st innings: Robin Uthappa b Nathu 1 ( 7b ), Jalaj Saxena c Bharat b Nathu 10 ( 18b, 1x4 ), Parthiv Patel c Bharat b Kuldeep 24 ( 65b, 2x4 ), Rajat Paliwal lbw b Nathu 1 ( 4b ), Suresh Raina b Kuldeep 35 ( 56b, 5x4 ), Saurabh Tiwary c Anureet b Nathu 50 ( 80b,7x4, 1x6 ), Shreyas Gopal c Yuvraj b Kuldeep 0 ( 3b ), Sandeep Sharma run out 3 ( 13b ), Ashoke Dinda b Nathu 17 ( 31b, 3x4 ), Pragyan Ojha b Nathu 0 ( 3b ), Ankit Rajpoot (not out) 0 ( 4b ), Extras (lb-1, nb-9) 10; Total (in 45.4 overs) 151.
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-25, 3-31, 4-72, 5-87, 6-87, 7-100, 8-139, 9-140.
India Red bowling: Anureet Singh 8-0-31-0, Nathu Singh 12.4-0-53-6, Kuldeep Yadav 15-4-32-3, Ishwar Pandey 5-0-19-0, Akshay Wakhare 5-0-15-0.
India Red — 2nd innings: K.S. Bharat b Rajpoot 20 ( 20b, 2x4, 1x6 ), Abhinav Mukund (batting) 162 ( 212b, 19x4 ), Sudip Chatterjee lbw b Gopal 114 ( 182b, 14x4 ), Yuvraj Singh c & b Saxena 10 ( 18b, 1x4, 1x6 ), Gurkeerat Mann (batting) 28 ( 37b, 3x4, 1x6 ), Extras (b-7, lb-2, nb-1) 10; Total (for three wkts in 78 overs) 344.
Fall of wickets: 1-39, 2-279, 3-300.
India Green bowling: Sandeep Sharma 13-2-53-0, Ashoke Dinda 10-2-31-0, Ankit Rajpoot 11-0-63-1, Jalaj Saxena 20-0-69-1, Pragyan Ojha 7-0-45-0, Shreyas Gopal 16-3-67-1, Rajat Paliwal 1-0-7-0.
