Rishabh Pant put the disappointment of his first-innings failure behind to signal his Test readiness with a 34-ball half-century for India B in the Duleep Trophy first-round match against India A in Bengaluru on Saturday.
He smashed 9 fours and 2 sixes before being dismissed for 61 off 47 balls by Tanush Kotian.
In the first innings, Pant was dismissed by paceman Akash Deep for just seven runs off a brilliant catch by India A skipper Shubman Gill.
India B bowlers, led by three wickets each by pacers Mukesh Kumar and Navdeep Saini, dismissed India A for 231 on Saturday to take a 90-run lead in the first innings.
However, the India B top-order collapsed in the second innings, as the scoreboard read 22 for 3. It included a duck by their centurion from the first innings, Musheer Khan.
That brought Pant and Sarfaraz Khan together, and the latter dominated their quickfire 72-run stand for the fourth wicket, at which point Sarfaraz fell to Avesh Khan for a 36-ball 46.
Pant, who is making a comeback to red-ball cricket since his horrific car accident in December 2022, took over from thereon and added 46 runs with Nitish Reddy.
At the time of publishing this report, India B were 146 for 5, leading India A by 236 runs.
The TOI Sports Desk excels in a myriad of roles that capture the ...
Read MoreThe TOI Sports Desk excels in a myriad of roles that capture the essence of live sporting events and deliver compelling content to readers worldwide.
From running live blogs for India and non-India cricket matches to global spectacles featuring Indian talents, like the Chess World Cup final featuring Praggnanandhaa and the Badminton World Championships semifinal featuring HS Prannoy, our live coverage extends to all mega sporting events. We extensively cover events like the Olympics, Asian Games, Cricket World Cups, FIFA World Cups, and more.
The desk is also adept at writing comprehensive match reports and insightful post-match commentary, complemented by stats-based articles that provide an in-depth analysis of player performances and team dynamics.
We track news wires for key stories, conduct exclusive player interviews in both text and video formats, and file content from print editions and reporters. We keep track of all viral stories, trending topics and produce our own copies on the subjects.
We deliver accurate, engaging, and up-to-the-minute sports content, round the clock.
Read Less