Anantapur: Prasidh Krishna and Tanush Kotian bagged three wickets each to guide India A to a commanding 132-run victory over India C, securing the Duleep Trophy title with 12 points.
Heading into the final day, three teams were still in contention for the title. India B lost to India D, leaving India A and C to fight for the win. Mayank Agarwal declared early in the morning session to give his bowlers ample time to take the 10 wickets, and they responded effectively.
India C’s pursuit of 350 started poorly with the early dismissal of Vijaykumar Vyshak, who surprisingly opened alongside captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. Gaikwad and Sai Sudharsan formed a crucial second-wicket partnership before Aaqib Khan removed Gaikwad.
India C’s middle order failed to support Sudharsan, who fought valiantly with an unbeaten 111 as six batters including Rajat Patidar and Abishek Porel (who scored 82 in the first innings) fell for single digits. Kotian’s off-spin dismantled the middle order while Prasidh claimed the vital wicket of Sudharsan and cleaned up the tail in the closing moments of the match.
India C fought hard to push the game to a draw, which would have given them the trophy by 1 point but Prasidh’s timely breakthroughs sealed the win for India A.
Brief scores: India A 297 & 286/8 decl. (Riyan Parag 73, Shashwat Rawat 53; Anshul Kamboj 2-52) beat India C 234 & 217 (Sai Sudharsan 111, Ruturaj Gaikwad 44; Tanush Kotian 3-47, Prasidh Krishna 3-50, Aaqib Khan 2-26) by 132 runs.
(IANS)
