India v Bangladesh: Pacer Aniket Choudhary makes it count

HYDERABAD: A couple of years ago, Aniket Choudhary had got a chance to showcase his potential in an India A match against New Zealand but the left-arm pacer was unable to make use of the opportunity . After that, it was back to the grind for the Rajasthan bowler but he didn't lose heart. Over the last few years, he kept getting wickets on a consistent basis.
This season too he got 21 wickets in Ranji Trophy ­ enough to merit selection in the India A team -and on Sunday, Aniket grabbed the opportunity to scalp four wickets against Bangladesh on the first day of the two-day game at the Gymkhana.Bangladesh, who elected to bat first, scored 224 for eight declared. By stumps the hosts were 91 for one.
With the wicket having sufficient juice in it, India A pacers enjoyed hitting the deck but the most to benefit from the track was Aniket. “The wicket suited my style of bowling. There was good bounce and carry to the wicketkeeper. For a pacer, it's wonderful to see the ball hit the keeper's gloves hard. I shortened my length a wee bit to take maximum advantage of the bounce,“ he said after posting his season's best of four for 26.
“Luck plays a big role in the sense that I was lucky to get the wicket of Tamim (Iqbal) who played on but that wicket spurred me on,“ he added. The next wicket was due to his skill as Aniket had Mominul Haque in trouble with a bouncing delivery and the Bangladeshi edged it straight to Ishank Jaggi in the slip cordon. Aniket's first spell read 7-1-14-2.
He then sent back Mushfiqur Rahim (58; 106b, 8x4, 1x6) and Mehedi Hasan (0) off consecutive balls in the 61st over of the innings. “The ball had become soft so I told the skipper about it. The umpires too were convinced about it and we took a new ball. That did the trick for me,“ he said.
In between, Soumya Sarkar (52; 73b, 9x4, 1x6) complemented Rahim's fifty with a half-century of his own.
There was something for the local fans to cheer as Chama Milind struck the first blow for India `A' when he had Imrul Kayes caught by Hardik Pandya at fine leg.
The India A response was spear headed by Gujarat's Priyank Panchal, the leading run-getter in Ranji Trophy last season with 1310 runs. Panchal was batting on a fluent 40 (62b, 6x4) and giving him company was Mumbai's Shreyas Iyer who was on 29 (35b; 4x4, 1x6). Skipper Abhinav Mukund fell for 16.