Duleep Trophy | Parag, Rawat put India-A in the driver’s seat

Riyan Parag and Shashwat Rawat shine in Duleep Trophy match with adaptability, setting up India-A for victory.

Cricket is a lot about adaptability. Riyan Parag and Shashwat Rawat showed that quality in ample measure on the third day of the Duleep Trophy match at the Rural Development Trust Stadium on Saturday.

Parag was a bit more cautious than usual, Rawat was a lot more aggressive than usual. Their 105-run partnership for the fourth wicket ensured India-A had a good chance to force a win against India-C.

India-A was 270 for six in its second innings, a lead of 333. It should be just about enough to consider an overnight declaration. An interesting final day beckons.

After making 30, 31, 37, 20 and two on his previous visits to the crease here, Parag must be relieved that he could play a significant innings – his first fifty in the Duleep Trophy.

Rawat already has two fifties and a hundred from just four innings in the competition. The stocky left-hander from Baroda looks promising. After making a 250-ball 124 in the first innings, at a strike-rate of 49.6, he was scoring at more than run-a-ball at times in the second, and went on to hit 53 off 67 balls (4x4, 1x6). He came down the track to take on the spinners, but it also proved his downfall: he was bowled by a ball that turned sharply in from left-armer Manav Suthar.

Three overs earlier, Parag (73, 101b, 5x4, 1x6) had fallen to a terrific one-handed catch by Ruturaj Gaikwad off Gaurav Yadav. The India-C captain ran and timed his jump at extra cover to perfection to take what was his third catch of the day.

The first of those brought his team the first wicket – Pratham Singh. The other opener Mayank Agarwal (34, 60b, 2x4) was bowled by a ball from Anshul Kamboj that came a long way in.