Duleep Trophy 2017, IND Red v IND Green Day 4 Review: Karn Sharma seals victory for the Reds

Karn Sharma took 10 wickets in the match to register a Red win.

Published - 11 Sept 2017, 12:52 IST | Updated - 11 Sept 2017, 12:52 IST

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What should have happened to keep the interest high in the last day of the inaugural match of the 56th Duleep Trophy contested between India Red and India Green, was exactly how the proceedings panned out. It was a cracker of a day’s play at the Ekana International Stadium in Lucknow. Two assassins named Karn Sharma and Siddarth Kaul brutally killed the challenge posed by the Greens.

At the start of the day India Green needed 376 runs to win the match but with 8 wickets in hand as vastly experienced Murali Vijay and first innings’ star performer Prasanth Chopra were already back in the dressing room. While 376 runs in a day might not have been too tempting to put your bucks on, but Reds were certainly in the line to pull off a victory, as they were just 8 wickets away.

Karn Sharma on fire

As for Parthiv Patel’s side, they needed something special from the duo which opened the day- Ravikumar Samarth and Karun Nair. Well, the duo did deliver, but that was all from PP’s men. Samarth and Nair lasted for 28 runs before the first dismissal of the day was served on the plate of the audience, in the form of the Samarth. Karn Sharma continued his top run of form booking his return to the dressing room.

Thereafter, the remaining batters chipped in with some contributions which would certainly add to their personal tally but had no significance in the context of the game. Ankit Bawne lasted for 17 runs before Dinesh Karthik’s pace spearhead, Siddarth Kaul announced his arrival. Bawne failed to make a significant connection and all the ball touched in its way was to the stumps.

The wicketkeeper skipper also lasted for some 26 odd runs but eventually lost his wicket to Karn Sharma. Don’t know whether Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced any prize for the busiest fielder, but if there was one, Gahlaut Rahul Singh would have been the winner hands down, as he took the catch this time around as well.

Dagar fights back

When it appeared that the game has nothing left, Mayank Dagar decided to prove his worth for the team. Alongside Nair, Dagar settled himself in the crease. In the meantime, the Test triple centurion completed yet another first-class hundred, but that was probably half the effort his side needed to win the match or at least to salvage a draw. But Sharma, the leggie was the man again, as Nair departed after scoring a score more than a century. Man of the hour Priyank Panchal was the man this time, changing roles with Gahlaut.

Shahbaz Nadeem and Mohammed Siraj departed without troubling the scorers. Navdeep Saini tried to play the misfit and rebelled for his three runs. Patel wanted resilience from his lower order, but that was not the case to be.

At 291/9, the result was written on the wall and it was for everyone to see. What only mattered was whether the 20-year-old youngster from Delhi, Dagar would complete his half-century or whether his partner Aniket Choudhary will surrender before that. But it turned out that Dagar himself failed 5 runs before the fifty, handing Karn Sharma his 6th wicket of the innings and 10th of the game.

While Karn definitely was the star of the match, Gowtham and Kaul’s performance in both the innings was praiseworthy. As far as batting is concerned, we hope that a selector is keeping an eye on the lad Priyank Panchal. Lastly, the tag of tragic hero would go to Nair for his precious contribution in the first innings and a superb hundred from the second, which are probably the only positives Parthiv can take from this game, except Murali Vijay’s brilliance with the ball.