Duleep Trophy 2024, Match 3 Day 2 Review: India A vs India D Highlights, Player Performances, and Stats

Day 2 of the ongoing Duleep Trophy 2024 fixture between India A and India D saw the Mayank Agarwal-led side strengthen their position in the game even further. Day 1 ended with India A having a score of 288/8, with Shams Mulani and Khaleel Ahmed on the crease. 

As the day began, Mulani was the first wicket to fall and added just one more run to his previous day's score. The southpaw scored a 187-ball 89, lacing his innings with eight boundaries and three sixes, respectively. India D's Harshit Rana hammered the final nail in the coffin as he got the last wicket of Aaqib Khan in no time. The team's final score stood at 290 runs. Rana was India D's leading wicket-taker, with four, and his last two wickets came in two consecutive deliveries, putting him on track for a hat-trick in the second innings.

As Shreyas Iyer & Co. came in to bat in their first innings, the side got off to a subpar start as openers Atharva Taide and Yash Dubey departed for four and 14 runs, respectively. Furthermore, skipper Iyer who walked in wearing sunglasses departed for a seven-ball duck.

Also Read: Duleep Trophy 2024: Shreyas Iyer departs for seven-ball duck after coming to bat wearing sunglasses

India A extend their lead

Left-hand batter Devdutt Padikkal did attempt to stabilize his side’s innings. Playing a resilient knock, Padikkal scored 92 runs in 124 deliveries. Wicketkeeper-batter The middle order consisted of Sanju Samson, Ricky Bhui, Saransh Jain, and Saurabh Kumar, who found themselves back in the pavilion without making a significant impact on the scoreboard.

Also Read: Suryakumar Yadav heaps praise on Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian for Duleep Trophy heroics

Meanwhile, star bowler Rana contributed with the bat, smashing 31 runs off 29 deliveries. Notably, 16 of them came from Shams Mulani's over. In pursuit of reducing the deficit, the India D batters kept losing wickets and were bundled out for 183 runs, leaving them trailing by 107 runs. For India A, Ahmed and Khan were the wreaked havoc with the ball, picking three wickets each. 

Dismantling the opposition on the same day, India A had the opportunity to extend their lead and get a huge advantage with two days of play left. Coming into the second innings, openers, Pratham Singh (59*) and skipper Mayank Agarwal (56) put on a solid opening partnership of 115 runs.

Both the players were playing in sync until Agarwal was a victim of being complacent against the opposition skipper, Shreyas Iyer. The day ended with India A's score standing at 115 runs after having lost one wicket. The side will hope to pile on some runs on the board and post a big target for the visitors to chase down.