Published: Aug 23, 2016, 04:08 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 23, 2016, 04:39 PM (IST)
India Green were on a roll with the pink ball as they restricted India Red to 67 for 6 at Tea on Day One of the first match at Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground in Uttar Pradesh. Sandeep Sharma, Ankit Rajpoot and Pragyan Ojha got a taste of pink ball in first five-day match. Sandeep was the first Indian bowler to create history with the pink ball as he drew first blood grabbing Srikar Bharat, the opening batsman for India Red. Meanwhile, Abhinav Mukund looked at ease with the ball and also got few boundaries to his name. Mukund along with Kuldeep Yadav are playing at 39 and 3 respectively. LIVE CRICKET UPDATES: India Red vs India Green, Five-Day Match, Greater Noida
Ashok Dinda started the innings for India Red and had an excellent time with pink ball for the first time as there were too many inside edge and top edge moments with Bharat. He seemed to have tough time settling at the crease and the pitch looking greener Mukund made complete use of the conditions. Mukund was off the mark with a boundary on Dinda’s over and he smashed fours at the end of this session. After the fall of Bharat, Mukund and Sudip Chattejee found momentum as they put up 22-run stand for third wicket. Chatterjee also fell into trap of Sandeep’s full length delivery round the wicket and was gone for 5.
Skipper Yuvraj Singh almost had moment with vintage Yuvraj boundary that crisply went towards cover region. In the next moment, he was caught by the man at square leg and Ankit Rajpoot got his first wicket with the pink ball. Gurkeerat Singh Mann also went for single digit and became the target of Rajpoot’s second wicket. Arun Karthik and Mukund continued the innings that ended the six-run stand by sloppy shot towards Shreyas Gopal and Pragyan Ojha getting his first wicket as well. It was finally time for Ashok Dinda to grab his hand on the pink ball as well and Akshay Wakhare, who was also part of Indian Premier League (IPL) found his way back to the field after 10-run stand with Mukund. He saw all the wickets falling in succession. Meanwhile, Mukund continued playing the main shots to push his side to fifty runs.
India Red captain Yuvraj won the toss of the first match and opted to bat first. All matches will be played at the Greater Noida International Cricket Stadium in Uttar Pradesh. India Red, India Blue and India Green will be the teams competing in the tournament. Red will be led by Yivraj, while Blue by Gautam Gambhir and Green by Suresh Raina. The Duleep Trophy this time will be played under lights the very first time in India’s domestic competition.
Brief Scores:
India Red 67 for 6 (Abhinav Mukund 39*, Kuldeep Yadav 3*; 2 for 16 Sandeep Sharma, Ankit Rajpoot 2 for 13) vs India Green
LIVE CRICKET UPDATES: India Red vs India Green, Five-Day Match, Greater Noida
