Musheer Khan. (Source – Twitter/X)
Duleep Trophy 2024 got off to a fantastic start as both the first-round matches saw hard-fought encounters, and eventually ended with outright results. Abhimanyu Easwaran-led India B beat Shubman Gill’s India A in Bengaluru by 76 runs on Day 4. Meanwhile, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s India C got the better of Shreyas Iyer-led India D in Anantapur by four wickets on Day 3.
There were some excellent performances in the two games as the players showcased their skills in the historic red-ball competition and auditioned for places in India’s two-match home Test series against Bangladesh.
From Musheer Khan’s epic century and Akash Deep’s phenomenal five-for in Bengaluru to all-round efforts of Axar Patel and Manav Suthar in Anantapur, let’s take a look at the top three performances from the first-round of Duleep Trophy 2024.
A look at top three performers from first-round matches of Duleep Trophy 2024
3. Akash Deep
Akash Deep. (Photo Source: Twitter/BCCI)
The Bengal pacer’s performance for India A was one of the highlights of the encounter from Bengaluru. Akash Deep is no stranger to bowling at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium as he plies his trade for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Also Read: WATCH: Akash Deep’s five-for restricts India B to 184 in second innings
The right-arm speedster bowled with a lot of steam and finished with figures of 4/60 from 27 overs in the first innings. His delivery to caste Nitish Kumar Reddy was a dream dismissal for a seamer. In the second innings, the 27-year-old delivered the goods once again, picking up five wickets for 56 runs from 14 overs. Deep also showed his batting skills in the fourth innings as his 43 off 42 balls reduced the margin of defeat for India A.
Deep was rewarded for his remarkable performance in the encounter as he was picked in the 16-man squad for India’s first Test against Bangladesh, starting on Thursday, September 19.
2. Manav Suthar
Manav Suthar. (Photo Source: Jio Cinema)
India C’s left-arm orthodox bowler picked up the solitary wicket of Srikar Bharat in India D’s first innings. However, to be fair to him, he got only seven overs to bowl, least out of the bowlers deployed by skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Also Read: ‘Sir, this fellow is made to be a spinner. Don’t stop him’ – Manav Suthar reveals how coach went against his father’s wish
However, in India D’s second essay, Suthar wreaked havoc as he finished with excellent figures of 7/49 in 19.1 overs, also bowling seven maidens. The 22-year-old joined Abishek Porel with the bat in the fourth innings at a critical stage as India C needed 42 runs to get with four wickets in the bank.
Suthar played second fiddle to the Bengal wicketkeeper and eventually finished unbeaten on 19 off 43 balls to help his team get over the line.
1. Musheer Khan
Musheer Khan. (Source – Twitter/X)
Sarfaraz Khan’s younger brother, Musheer Khan, smashed his third century in first-class cricket in the first innings of the India A versus India B clash. The right-handed batter scored a spectacular 181 off 373 balls on a spicy pitch after India B were reduced to 94/7 on Day 1.
Also Read: Our father has conditioned us to score big: Musheer Khan
Musheer hit 16 fours and five sixes during his marathon innings and formed a match-winning 205-run partnership off 403 balls for the eighth wicket with Navdeep Saini. The 19-year-old scored 154 runs out of the 205-run partnership with the Delhi pacer.
Musheer also took some sharp catches at the forward-short-leg position, showing commendable reflexes and anticipation. He couldn’t trouble the scorers in the second innings but his first innings heroics were enough to put India B in a position of strength.
