Ravindra Jadeja finished with match figures of 10-171
India's grand test with the pink ball came to an end on Wednesday (September 14), with India Blue succeeding under lights with a comprehensive all-round display at the Greater Noida Sports Complex. While the greater implication of the tournament lies in its review, for now, it is the Gautam Gambhir-led side that can celebrate following a massive 355-run win.
India Blue were in commanding position coming into the last day of the final with a lead of 476 runs. The trophy was going only one way, but the passage was only made smoother courtesy an insipid batting performance from India Red on Day 5. Chasing an improbable 517-plus target, the Yuvraj Singh-led side was bowled out for 161.
Resuming the innings on 139 for 3, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja got off to a slow start. The quick runners that they are between the wickets, Jadeja challenged Nitish Rana for a quick single after Rohit nudged a ball towards short cover. However, the all-rounder fell short of his crease.
Only 11 balls later, Kuldeep Yadav got his third wicket of the innings after Sheldon Jackson failed to dispatch a full toss over Shikhar Dhawan at mid off. After a brief stand between Karn Sharma and Rohit, India Blue declared their innings at 179 for 5, having added 40 runs to their overnight total. It was a bizarre declaration given that India Blue could not get a full quota of 90 overs to bowl their opposition out. But it did allow their bowlers to rest when the sun was beating down heavily in the afternoon.
With more than 500 runs to win in less than three sessions, the challenge was out of hand even before India Red began their chase. To serve a blow to their hopes of a miracle, Abhinav Mukund was hurt by a Pankaj Singh delivery that rose sharply after pitching good length to hit his shoulder. The left-hander had to retire hurt in the first over itself.
Shikhar Dhawan and Sudip Chatterjee showed no intent of going after the target, and instead put on a steady 43-run stand, before the latter looked to slog Jadeja across the line and ended up getting a top edge to Abhimanyu Mithun at mid off. Six balls later, Parvez Rasool managed to induce an outside edge off Dhawan's bat after the left-hander closed the face of his bat to play it on the leg side. But the gentle turn got the edge and went safely to Gautam Gambhir at slips. India Red went to Tea at 49 for 2.
The initial period of the post-Tea session provided for some entertaining viewing as two Punjab batsmen - Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Yuvraj Singh went after the bowlers. Twice in two overs the southpaw came down the track to send Rasool and Jadeja respectively out of the park. There was some vintage class in his stroke-making. Along with Mann, he added 52 runs off 54 balls for the third wicket before top-edging a sweep shot against Jadeja to Pankaj at long leg.
There were rough patches on the pitch to assist the spinners, which Jadeja and Karn took full advantage of as they ran through India Red's middle order and lower-middle order.
Binny, who was yet to get off the mark, was trapped leg-before by a Jadeja delivery that was darted in to the batsman, for a duck. Wickets continued to tumble at a quick pace from there on. Mann, who had clobbered four sixes in his innings, tried to fancy another hit over the rope by coming down the track in the 29th over, when he was beaten in flight and turn by Karn. Dinesh Karthik made no mistake in whipping off the bails before the batsman could return to his crease.
Kuldeep and Ankush Bains hit some big shots and added quick runs. However, by then, the chase had gone off track. Karn scalped the wickets of Bains and Pradeep Sangwan off consecutive deliveries to set India Red further back.
In the first ball of the 45th over, Jadeja's faster one rapped Nathu Singh on the pads. It was a close call, but the umpire ruled his decision in favour of the bowler. With the wicket, Jadeja bagged his second fifer in the match and finished with a 10-wicket haul as India Red were bowled out for under 170. Cheteshwar Pujara was awarded the Man of the Match for his splendid double century in the first innings.
Brief Scores: India Blue 693/6 decl. (Cheteshwar Pujara 256*, Sheldon Jackson 134; Amit Mishra 2-171) and 179/5 decl. (Mayank Agarwal 52, Gautam Gambhir 36; Kuldeep Yadav 3-62) beat India Red 356 (Stuart Binny 98, Amit Mishra 65; Ravindra Jadeja 5-95) and 161 (Gurkeerat Singh Mann 39; Ravindra Jadeja 5-76, Karn Sharma 3-33) by 355 runs.
India Blue were in commanding position coming into the last day of the final with a lead of 476 runs. The trophy was going only one way, but the passage was only made smoother courtesy an insipid batting performance from India Red on Day 5. Chasing an improbable 517-plus target, the Yuvraj Singh-led side was bowled out for 161.
Resuming the innings on 139 for 3, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja got off to a slow start. The quick runners that they are between the wickets, Jadeja challenged Nitish Rana for a quick single after Rohit nudged a ball towards short cover. However, the all-rounder fell short of his crease.
Only 11 balls later, Kuldeep Yadav got his third wicket of the innings after Sheldon Jackson failed to dispatch a full toss over Shikhar Dhawan at mid off. After a brief stand between Karn Sharma and Rohit, India Blue declared their innings at 179 for 5, having added 40 runs to their overnight total. It was a bizarre declaration given that India Blue could not get a full quota of 90 overs to bowl their opposition out. But it did allow their bowlers to rest when the sun was beating down heavily in the afternoon.
With more than 500 runs to win in less than three sessions, the challenge was out of hand even before India Red began their chase. To serve a blow to their hopes of a miracle, Abhinav Mukund was hurt by a Pankaj Singh delivery that rose sharply after pitching good length to hit his shoulder. The left-hander had to retire hurt in the first over itself.
Shikhar Dhawan and Sudip Chatterjee showed no intent of going after the target, and instead put on a steady 43-run stand, before the latter looked to slog Jadeja across the line and ended up getting a top edge to Abhimanyu Mithun at mid off. Six balls later, Parvez Rasool managed to induce an outside edge off Dhawan's bat after the left-hander closed the face of his bat to play it on the leg side. But the gentle turn got the edge and went safely to Gautam Gambhir at slips. India Red went to Tea at 49 for 2.
The initial period of the post-Tea session provided for some entertaining viewing as two Punjab batsmen - Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Yuvraj Singh went after the bowlers. Twice in two overs the southpaw came down the track to send Rasool and Jadeja respectively out of the park. There was some vintage class in his stroke-making. Along with Mann, he added 52 runs off 54 balls for the third wicket before top-edging a sweep shot against Jadeja to Pankaj at long leg.
There were rough patches on the pitch to assist the spinners, which Jadeja and Karn took full advantage of as they ran through India Red's middle order and lower-middle order.
Binny, who was yet to get off the mark, was trapped leg-before by a Jadeja delivery that was darted in to the batsman, for a duck. Wickets continued to tumble at a quick pace from there on. Mann, who had clobbered four sixes in his innings, tried to fancy another hit over the rope by coming down the track in the 29th over, when he was beaten in flight and turn by Karn. Dinesh Karthik made no mistake in whipping off the bails before the batsman could return to his crease.
Kuldeep and Ankush Bains hit some big shots and added quick runs. However, by then, the chase had gone off track. Karn scalped the wickets of Bains and Pradeep Sangwan off consecutive deliveries to set India Red further back.
In the first ball of the 45th over, Jadeja's faster one rapped Nathu Singh on the pads. It was a close call, but the umpire ruled his decision in favour of the bowler. With the wicket, Jadeja bagged his second fifer in the match and finished with a 10-wicket haul as India Red were bowled out for under 170. Cheteshwar Pujara was awarded the Man of the Match for his splendid double century in the first innings.
Brief Scores: India Blue 693/6 decl. (Cheteshwar Pujara 256*, Sheldon Jackson 134; Amit Mishra 2-171) and 179/5 decl. (Mayank Agarwal 52, Gautam Gambhir 36; Kuldeep Yadav 3-62) beat India Red 356 (Stuart Binny 98, Amit Mishra 65; Ravindra Jadeja 5-95) and 161 (Gurkeerat Singh Mann 39; Ravindra Jadeja 5-76, Karn Sharma 3-33) by 355 runs.
No comments: