Published: Sep 05, 2016, 10:53 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 06, 2016, 02:23 PM (IST)
Greater Noida: Cheteshwar Pujara overcame problems regarding sighting pink ball to hit a crisp 166 before teammate Sheldon Jackson sent the India Green bowlers on a leather hunt with India Blue piling up a mammoth 707 in a virtual ‘semi-final’ on Day Two of Duleep Trophy. Gautam Gambhir’s ploy to outbat the opposition was followed to the ‘T’ by his batsmen after Pujara scored yet another first-class ton only to set up the platform for Jackson, who was swiftly into the action plundering 105 off 114 balls with 7 fours and 5 sixes. Karn Sharma also joined the run feast with a quickfire 56. Shreyas Gopal, though bagged his second 5-for, will not be happy with figures of 5 for 173. ALSO READ: Pujara: Difficult to pick googly under lights with pink ball
India Blue bettered their first day’s performance as they added 371 runs on the second day to the 336 scored on the first day. The first session and the following half belonged to Pujara who hit 24 boundaries facing 280 deliveries, as he hit another 11 boundaries on the day adding to the 13 he hit on the first day. He was a bit more cautious till he reached the landmark but opened up soon after, playing aggressive cricket for the rest of his innings. Pujara was bowled off a Gopal delivery, and departed for 166, remaining the higehest run-getter for the side. However, the innings did not please the batsman entirely. “I am disappointed that I did not continue. There were some problems sighting the seam of the pink ball and spotting the googly under lights,” Pujara said after his knock.
It was Sheldon Jackson, who next entertained the crowd with some fearless hitting. Jackson went all guns blazing and the spinners were sent over long-on and long-off, while he pulled Dinda imperiously over deep square leg. The batsman added 105 runs in in less than 20 overs with Karn to frustrate the already tired Green bowlers. Jackson was into his 90’s when he hit Jalaj Saxena over long-on for a six and then drove Gopal for a boundary to complete his tenth first-class ton. He was the last man to be dismissed trying to clear Gopal, who picked up his fifth wicket to complete his 5-for. ALSO READ: Duleep Trophy 2016: Mayank, Gambhir put IND Blue on top
“I consider myself lucky. I was dropped in the 70s, the wicket was good and the ball was coming on nicely. When the new ball comes, it gets difficult (to sight) because the speed changes, the ball skids on at good pace, so making the minor adjustment takes a little bit of time,” Jackson said after the game. “Every match I score is important, but to score in such matches is very important because it is live and people are watching. It (the surface) should behave a little differently on days 3 and 4. Both the sides (of the ball) are scuffed up a little bit,” he added.
On Day One, Mayank Agarwal continued his rich vein of form with a cracking 161 as India Blue batsmen were engaged in a run-feast scoring 336 for 3 against India Green in what can be called as the virtual “semi-final’ clash of this season of Duleep Trophy on Sunday. Agarwal, who had scored 92 in the earlier game, made no mistake as he scored his second first-class century. He faced 218 balls hitting 21 boundaries and a six off Pragyan Ojha. Veteran opener Gautam Gambhir called it right at the toss and did not hesitate to make first use of a placid wicket with nothing much in it for the bowlers. ALSO READ: Virat Kohli could miss Duleep Trophy final
Having added 151 for the first wicket in the earlier rain-truncated encounter against the Reds in the second match, Gambhir and Agarwal were a notch better against an insipid ‘Green’ attack adding 212 runs for the opening stand. The veteran India discard missed out on a well-deserved hundred as he was run-out having scored a sedate 90 off 193 balls with 10 boundaries. In fact the soon-to-be 35 Gambir dropped anchor at one end letting right-handed Agarwal take the attack to the opposition camp with some lovely shots through off-side cordon.
Limited-overs specialist Jasprit Bumrah (1 for 61 in 15 overs) bowled too many loose deliveries and was also guilty of over-stepping. Dinda was also inconsistent while Rajpoot was among those few who ended with a better economy. The spin troika of Gopal (0 for 70 in 17 overs), Ojha (0 for 75 in 18 overs) and off-spinner Jalaj Saxena (0 for in 19 overs) failed to bowl wicket-taking deliveries on Day One.
After his innings, Pujara told PTI, “This was my first game with the pink ball, enjoyed batting on this wicket, not much help for the fast bowlers. The most difficult session was the third one, under lights, when they took the second new ball, it moved about, it came on faster. So I think the third session is the most difficult one,” Pujara told official broadcasters Star Sports after his innings. Even when I was facing spinners, it was very difficult to pick the googly, under lights. A little difficult to pick the seam on the pink ball,” he added.
“Disappointed to get out on 166. People expect big from me. Getting a hundred was good though. Always good to play domestic games before a big series.”
He also spoke about India’s upcoming Test series with New Zealand. “Looking forward to it considering we have 13-14 matches (in the forthcoming season). New Zealand have a good batting line-up, good spinners and their fast bowlers are bowling reverse swing as well. As a batsman, we need to be careful. India have done really well so far, in India and outside India as well.”
He also stated that he is comfortable batting at any position in Tests. “Sometimes you have to be prepared to bat at any number. If given a choice, and because I have scored so many runs at No 3, I know how to bat there, I know how to build an innings. Given a choice, I would like to bat at No 3. But I’m happy to bat wherever. I share my experience with the young cricketers, I know when I was making my India debut, the seniors helped me out.”
Brief Scores:
India Blue 707 (Mayank Agarwal 161, Gautam Gambhir 90, Cheteshwar Pujara 166, Sheldon Jackson 105, Karn Sharma 56; Ashok Dinda 2 for 114, Shreyas Gopal 5 for 173) vs India Green
