Published: Sep 01, 2016, 07:45 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 02, 2016, 03:48 AM (IST)
The second match in Duleep Trophy played between India Red and India Blue was rain washed as heavy rains continued to torment after no play was possible on the fourth and final day at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground due to rain. A total of 78.2 overs were bowled in four days before the umpires and the two captains decided to settle for a draw on Thursday. Rain interruptions started from day one itself when India Blue captain and opener Gautam Gambhir along with other opener Mayank Agrawal. Duleep Trophy Live updates: India’s first Pink ball tournament, IND Blue vs IND Red
Rain interrupted play on the first day after 34.2 overs with Gautam Gambhir and Mayank Agarwal had put 105 runs on board. This continued for the rest of the day after which play had to be called off on day one. The ground staff put in some outstanding effort as they cleared the ground which was filled with almost ankle length water. Play was delayed on second day but eventually saw the game of cricket as Blue tumbled against the spin of Kuldeep Yadav before the opening pair added 151 runs for the first wicket. Blue did not find any partnership happening for them except the top two batsmen as following batsmen Baba Aparajit, Suryakumar Yadav and Karn Sharma got out cheaply.
Blues were at 151 for the loss of one wicket when Gambhir departed, but with none of the next batsmen performing well, Blues were left tottering at 200 for 5 at the end of day two. Kuldeep Yadav took four wickets and by stumps, Sheldon Jackson and Dinesh Karthik were batting, without opening their accounts, with score at 200 for 5. The momentum has shifted towards the bowling side and they will like to run through the opponents’ batting order by dismissing them for around 250.
But on day three, Karthik and Jackson batted well to help their team out of misery as they went on to add more 85 runs before rain again interrupted the game. Since then it never looked like cricket was ever happening again as heavy rains continued to torment Greater Noida. Situation worsened as same amount of rains continued on the last day as well and eventually with the discussion between the umpires and two captains the match was called off as a draw.
The result means India Red have now qualified for the Duleep Trophy final, having accumulated seven points from their two fixtures. India Blue and India Green will play the final group stage fixture, starting September 4 which will decide the other finalist. India Green captained by Suresh Raina has already lost the opener against Yuvraj Singh’s India Red.
For the starters, it is the first time ever that the pink cricket ball is being used in a high profile tournament like the Duleep Trophy. The pink cricket ball is the future of Test cricket as it will be used for the day-night Test matches, and the ball which is being made by several companies around the world such as Kookaburra, Dukes, SG and even Spartan, is one of the main attractions of the ongoing Duleep Trophy 2016-17. The entire Duleep Trophy 2016-17 will be played at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, Greater Noida. The ground may not be having all the facilities of an international cricket venue, but it has as many as six light towers for the game to go on unaffected in the dark.
The first-ever pink cricket ball Test was played between Australia and New Zealand late last year, and to organise it, the Cricket Australia (CA) had to put prize money of AUD 1 million to make the players agree to take part in it as they had their own reservations. But India have a long way to go in this regards, and it will be unlikely that the BCCI will be forced to put a prize money in place to make their opponents play the day-night Test with the pink cricket ball.
The pink cricket ball is currently being experimented in India. It was expected that one of the three Test matches between India and New Zealand will be played under lights, but the Indian cricket board suddenly changed their mood and decided to do all their experimentations and study Australian sports equipment makers Kookaburra’s pink cricket ball first. This is why the Duleep Trophy 2016-17 is being played with the pink cricket ball.
For those who are unaware, there is a big possibility of some star attraction getting added to the Duleep Trophy 2016-17. India’s Test captain Virat Kohli, his deputy Ajinkya Rahane, middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma and ace spinner, may we say, ace all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin are all expected to take part in the ongoing Duleep Trophy 2016-17 for the three teams, that is, India Red, Blue and Green at some time in the tournament. Cheteshwar Pujara will also be taking part in the Duleep Trophy 2016-17.
The Indian cricket team will have some of its players joining the three Duleep Trophy 2016-17 participating teams, which will certainly boost their preparations for a long home series. Indian cricket team is playing as many as 13 Tests at home starting late September, as big teams such as New Zealand, England, Australia and even Bangladesh will be touring. India will want their cricketers to be ready and those on the fringes too, such as Yuvraj, Gambhir and Suresh Raina.
Brief scores: India Blue 285/5 in 62 overs (Mayank Agarwal 92, Gautam Gambhir 77; Kuldeep Yadav 4-78) vs India Red.
(Rohan A. Sawant is a reporter for CricketCountry. He loves Football, Cricket and is a die-hard Arsenal fan. He is an avid writer and has some knowledge about cricket and so he is trying his best to pour with his Laptop as he find writing with pen and paper very clumsy. You can follow him on Twitter @iswandering)
