Manish Pandey, Shikhar Dhawan lead India B to second win in Deodhar Trophy

India B after beating India A in the opening match of the Deodhar Trophy 2017 registered their second victory in the tournament defeating Vijay Hazare Trophy champions Tamil Nadu by 32 runs at the VDCA Stadium in Vizag today. Skipper Parthiv Patel won the toss and decided to bat first but before he could quite get going in the knock M Mohammed had him caught behind for 11.

Tamil Nadu would have imagined a far better result after picking the first wicket for just 14. But they were met with a resistive and counterattacking third wicket partnership between Indian batsmen Manish Pandey and Shikhar Dhawan. The duo scored runs freely, played their shots and ensured no TN bowler was a threat big enough to disrupt their partnership.

After steadying things, the right-hander and the southpaw got to their half centuries but just as they reached the 100-run mark on the board Dhawan was bowled by Sai Kishore on exactly 50 that he scored from 47 balls with six boundaries and two sixes. This is Dhawan’s second fifty plus score in as many games since he scored a magnificent hundred in the opening match of the tournament. Pandey wasn’t deterred with the loss of his partner and carried on from one end.

The domestic List A champs made a comeback of sorts with two quick wickets in the form of Odisha captain Govind Poddar and Jharkhand’s Ishank Jaggi who scored 7 and 12 respectively. Allrounder Axar Patel had other plans and put up a 98-run stand with Pandey which saw the No.3 batsman score his 6th List A century and guide the team towards a big total. Patel’s half century ensured India B were well on course for a 300+ total.

India B’s plans were dealt another blow when Sai Kishore returned to claim Axar for 51 and Pandey for 104 with the team score reading 259/6. Allrounder Gurkeerat Singh Mann (25) and Akshay Karnewar (28*) made crucial contributions in the lower order to take them past 300, Dhawal Kulkarni’s 11 and a total of 17 extras took the India B team to 316/8 after 50 overs. Kishore finished his spell of 10 overs with 4 wickets and spent 60 runs.

The target was stiff but Tamil Nadu had eclipsed such challenges in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and would have backed themselves to seal a win on a surface that appeared good for batting. They had a similar start with opener GS Raju managing just 10 before giving Karnewar a catch off Kulkarni. There was a repeat of what we saw in the first inning. The third wicket partnership added over100 runs for TN and placed them pretty comfortable on the course of the chase.

Narayan Jagadeesan was the first to be dismissed as Axar Patel cleaned him up returning to make an impact with the ball after his fifty. The TN No.3 scored 64 from 56 balls plundering 5 fours and 3 sixes. Kaushik Gandhi converted his half century into a big hundred having produced an unbeaten century in against Himachal Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Tamil Nadu batting relies a lot on their experienced campaigner Dinesh Karthik who was the top run-scorer for them in the VHT and scored a hundred in the final to win them the tournament. He could only score 28 here and skipper Vijay Shankar also failed to capitalize on his start after scoring 27. Axar and Kulwant Khejrolia accounted for the respective scalps.

The Gujarat left-arm spinner and Kulkarni after these crucial breakthroughs then ran through the Tamil Nadu batting order claiming three wickets each to bowl them out for 284 in 48.4 overs and thus India B recorded a 32-run win and registered another 4 points in their tally.

It was an allround effort from Axar Patel that gave India B a real edge in the game with a good bowling performance from pacer Kulkarni and young left-arm seamer Chama Milind who picked the first and last wicket of the inning.

Another knock of substance from Dhawan and a century from Pandey who missed out on making it big in the Vijay Hazare trophy despite starts is a good sign not just for the team but for the duo as well who has represented India in the past and definitely have the desire of returning to the team for the Champions Trophy in June.

Brief Scores:

India B: 316/8 in 50 overs (Manish Pandey 104, Axar Patel 51, Shikhar Dhawan 50; Sai Kishore 4/60)

Tamil Nadu: 284 all out in 48.4 overs (Kaushik Gandhi 124, GS Raju 64; Dhawal Kulkarni 3/45, Axar Patel 3/53, C Milind 2/42)