Gurbani takes seven to help India Red take first-innings lead

DINDIGUL: For most of the third day of the Duleep Trophy opener at NPR College ground here on Sunday, India Green seemed to have done enough to take a first-innings lead riding B Indrajith's well-compiled 109.
India Red's Rajneesh Gurbani, though, intervened and turned the day around. After taking the wicket of Indrajith late in the second session when India Green were only 80 runs adrift with five wickets in hand, the Vidarbha seamer cleaned up the lower-order in the final session to finish with figures of 7 for 81.
India Green lost their last four wickets for 26 runs and were bundled out for 309, conceding a 28-run lead to Abhinav Mukund & Co.That lead was then extended to 66 runs as India Red went to stumps at 38/0 in their second innings. Play was called off 15 minutes before the close with some repair work needing to be carried out in the run-up area of the bowlers at the pavilion end.
The complexion of the game changed when India Red took the second new ball after 86 overs. At that stage, India Green were going strong with Indrajith and Gurkeerat Mann (35) at the crease. Just four overs later, Gurbani found the edge of Indrajith's bat from around the wicket and it was safely pouched by Sanjay Ramaswamy in the slips. Once Indrajith departed, there was no real resistance. Adept at getting the new ball to move both ways, Gurbani continued tormenting the India Green batsmen and eventually finished with five wickets for 37 runs in 13 overs in a spell that was only interrupted by the dinner break.
India Green's late collapse must have been gut-wrenching for Indrajith, in particular, considering he had largely shepherded their innings with a mature knock. He had brought up his hundred off 220 balls after spending close to six hours at the crease in what was his first domestic fixture since TN's Ranji encounter against Baroda in November last year. After the Ranji campaign, he had undergone a shoulder surgery and missed the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.
Indrajith had started the day alongside Sudip Chatterjee, continuing the good work they had done for India Green during the final session on Day 2. The runs might have been coming in a trickle, but both of them didn't seem to mind that and looked fairly assured in the middle. But much to Sudip's frustration, he shot himself in the foot when he was run out for 82 off 205 balls after spending more than four hours at the crease.
Brief scores: India Red 337 & 38/0 (Abhinav Mukund 21 not out). India Green (B Indrajith 109, Sudip Chatterjee 82; Rajneesh Gurbani 7/81). India Red lead by 66 runs.