Best playing XI of the Duleep Trophy 2016

The Duleep Trophy 2016 just met with it conclusion after the Gautam Gambhir-led India Blue steamrolled India Red by a huge 355 runs margin in the final. The one–sided show saw India Blue completely dominate India Red in all departments and pocket the title without much hassle. The tournament was a groundbreaking one. The day-night version was introduced for the first time. With no experience of playing with the innovative pink ball, players had a new challenge waiting in front of them. The whole tournament also suffered due to rains. Regardless of these factors, all three teams coped well with the challenge and came out good, giving some exhilarating performances. The most dominant of them all were, of course, the champions India Blue. Both India Red and India Green failed to match them. But, when it comes to the individuals, each team had its standout performers who performed brightly. Therefore, it will be really interesting to combine all the standout performers and form the best XI . So, here in this listicle, we try to list the ‘Best Playing XI of the Duleep Trophy 2016.’ 1. Gautam Gambhir – India Blue (C): Gautam Gambhir. (Photo Source: Twitter) Gautam Gambhir made a lot of noise this tournament. The India Blue skipper was at his best with the bat and amassed 356 runs from five innings at an average of 71.20. He was the man responsible for the numerous strong starts that India Blue had in the tournament. While a few players came up with issues of facing the bowlers under the lights, Gambhir never looked to be having any problem and was very comfortable against fast bowler and spinners. He never tasted failure in the three games he played, hitting half-centuries in each innings except on one occasion (in the second innings of the finals, he scored 36). In the first rain-hit match against India Red, Gambhir contributed 77. He followed it up with fantastic knocks of 90 and 59 in the important 2nd game against India Green. In the finally, he once again missed out on a century after getting out for 94. In all, his efforts saw him finish as the fourth highest run-getter in the overall batting chart of the tournament and also helped him create some noise about his comeback in the national team. 2. Mayank Agarwal – India Blue: Mayank Agarwal. (Photo Source: Twitter) Mayank Agarwal was the best performing young batsman in the tournament. Young right-hander forged very successful partnerships with his senior mate Gautam Gambhir and helped India Blue give out some really dominating performances at the top. It was a run fest for Agarwal. He finished the tournament as the second highest run-getter with 420 runs at an average of 84 including 4 half-centuries (he hit 50’s in all the innings he played). He started off the tournament solid with a 92 in the first game against India Red. Unfortunate to have to miss a ton, Agarwal made up for it by making a huge 161 in the next game and followed it up with three half-centuries in the next three innings. Overall, it won’t be wrong to say that Agarwal played a huge role in India Blue’s successful campaign. The stability he provided at the top with Gambhir set the platform for his peers to come build on huge scores. 3. Cheteshwar Pujara – India Blue: Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara. (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images) The difference of watching a Test cricketer and a domestic talent clearly visible when Cheteshwar Pujara was batting for India Blue. Fresh from his international duty, he wasted no time and made himself available for the selection in order to get some match practice ahead of the home series against New Zealand. It seemed that he had come with a single mindset – to score as many runs as possible in the two games. In his first outing, he gave India Green bowlers a really tough time and smashed 166 in the first innings itself. He was less fortunate in the second innings and could make only 31. But, that was, by no means an opportunity to underestimate him. Pujara came back strongly in the finals against India Red and piled on a record-breaking double ton in the first innings. His unbeaten 256 helped his side easily to a massive win and also earned him a man of the match award. He was so majestic in the tournament that it needed him just two games to surpass his teammates Mayank Agarwal, Gautam Gambhir and finish as the highest run-getter of the tournament. 4. Dinesh Kartik – India Blue (wk): (© INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images) Dinesh Kartik was the best keeper batsman of the tournament. Kartik was productive in both of his departments – batting and keeping. With the bat, he provided solidity to the India Blue side middle order and made 211 runs with the help of 2 half-centuries. Although he didn’t get it with one big score, his consistency allowed him to build valuable partnerships and propel India Blue to mammoth scores. Talking about the glove work, the experienced Tamil Nadu keeper looked at ease. The pink ball and keeping under the light was new to him but he was flawless and did his job perfectly, eventually finishing with 4 catches and 1 stumping. The only player who competed with his glove work in the tournament was the young 23 years old Andhra wicket keeper Srikar Bhat who also ended with 5 dismissals to his name. Kartik, however, bettered him in the run scoring department and thereby makes into the list ahead of him. 5. Suresh Raina – India Green: ‘India Green’ captain Suresh Raina throws a pink ball.(Photo credit should read MONEY SHARMA/AFP/Getty Images) Suresh Raina was India Green’s most successful batsman after opener Robin Uthappa. In the first game where the team folded for just 151 and 277, Raina was the only strong performer with the bat making 35 and 90 respectively. His efforts weren’t enough to save the game for his side but all his international experience was on display with the way he batted with the lower middle order and the tailenders. In the rain-hit second game too, the southpaw made an entertaining 52 at no. 7 and helped his team post a functional total. Raina, in all, ended with 177 runs in two matches. The team particularly did not have a great time. They lost their opening encounter with India Red and then rain messed up their opportunity to make it to the final after a rain-enforced draw. Raina, however, could not be blamed for it as the whole unit failed to back him up. Therefore, it won’t be correct to judge his captaincy based on these two games. 6. Sheldon Jackson – India Red: Sheldon Jackson. (Photo Source: Twitter) Sheldon Jackson was another player who had a fantastic tournament. Jackson looked in top notch form and added more stability and firepower to the India Blue middle order. After the top order would tire out the opposition bowlers and leave the crease, Jackson would then emerge and further frustrate them with his sturdy knocks. The 29-year-old from Baroda started off with an unbeaten 48-run knock in the opening match. It was quite unfortunate for him that he could not reach his half-century as the rains forced the match to be abandoned. However, he looked highly determined to leave a mark in the tournament and hit sparkling knocks of 105 and 79 in the following game. He wasn’t satisfied yet and added another century to his tally when he went to slam an even better knock of 134 in the finals. Batting with Pujara, Jackson helped India Blue reach a mammoth total in the first innings. 7. Ravindra Jadeja – India Blue: Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo Source: Twitter) Ravindra Jadeja looked completely unplayable in the tournament and went on a wicket taking spree. He just like Pujara had returned from the West Indies. Jadeja gained valuable match practice and problem sent some warning signals in the New Zealand camp with his dominating show of spin bowling. Jaddu was able to play only in the finals and did not miss the opportunity to create an impact, returning with a spell of 10/171. His bowling performance was vital in giving India Blue a win straight away. The match was hindered by rains and the strong batting show from his side meant that there was very less time available to bowl out the opposition and clinch an outright victory. Jadeja, however, looked in fine rhythm and snapped consecutive five-wicket hauls. He first produced a spell of 5/95 in the first innings and then backed it up with more economical and match defining spell of 5/76. His wonderful show saw him leapfrog most of the bowler in the ‘top wicket-takers’ chart and occupy the third spot with an extraordinary 10 wickets in only 1 match at an average of just 17.10. 8. Shreyas Gopal – India Green: Shreyas Gopal. (Photo Source: Twitter) The 23-year-old Shreyas Gopal was another young talent who impressed greatly in the Duleep Trophy. The leg-spinning all-rounder is taking giant strides in the domestic arena after each passing competition. Gopal was his team’s best spinner in the tournament, taking 14 wickets in 2 matches including two five-wicket hauls. His superb performance also saw him end as the second most successful bowler of the tournament sitting only behind Kuldeep Yadav. Picked on the back of his fantastic run for Karnataka this season, Gopal continued to be in fine form. It was due to his standout performances that India Green could stay in the contest on a couple of occasions. 9. Kuldeep Yadav – India Red: Kuldeep Yadav. (Photo Source: Twitter) Kuldeep Yadav, without any doubt, is the most exciting young spinner in the country at present. He has been making headlines ever since he was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL last season. Wicket taking is slowly becoming a kind of habit for this 21-year-old Uttar Pradesh chinaman spinner. One factor which helped him in the tournament was the day-night format. A couple of batsmen stated that picking spinners was a little difficult under the lights. A few others specifically mentioned Yadav as the most troublesome. They were obviously not wrong at all. His unconventional bowling style and well-disguised googly made many batsmen uncomfortable in the middle, especially in the evening sessions. Going by the way he has performed in the recent past, Yadav surely is a man to watch out for in the coming future. 10. Nathu Singh – India Red: ‘India Red’ cricketer Nathu Singh (TOP) delivers a pink ball to ‘India Green’ batsman Parthiv Patel. (Photo by MONEY SHARMA/AFP/Getty Images) Nathu Singh is easily the fastest bowler in the country. Not any normal bowler, but the one who can inflict serious blows to bodies of the batsmen. Brought to limelight out of nowhere earlier this year, the selectors are betting heavily on the 21-year-old. And, he hasn’t disappointed at all. Nathu, irrespective of the conditions, has picked wickets regularly. He started off with a headline-grabbing six-wicket haul against India Green. Unfortunately, he could recreate the same magic in the following two games and had to settle down with 8 wickets in three games. He has an experience of just 9 FC matches, but his bowling shows no hint of inexperience. He sticks to his strengths – the short pitched stuff – and unsettles the batsmen. In the tournament, he looked very notorious with the new ball. 11. Pankaj Singh – India Blue: Pankaj Singh. (Photo Source: PTI) Pankaj Singh may have had an underwhelming tournament statistically but his effectiveness was attention grabbing. The 31-year-old, who could play only one Test for India, bowled like a workhorse. His bowling style is also similar to that of Nathu Singh. He relies more on the short pitch stuff than pitching the ball up. The pink ball provided him with the extra swing required to keep the batsmen under control. After being not considered for the first game, Gambhir opted for the burly fast bowler in the second game against India Green. He repaid the faith with an impressive spell of 2/54 and 1/29. He played a good supporting role in the finals too, picking 2/42 and 2/12. Pankaj eventually ended with 7 wickets in two matches at an average of 27.40.

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Best playing XI of the Duleep Trophy 2016

2. Mayank Agarwal – India Blue:

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