India A takes lead with strong performances from Mayank Agarwal and Pratham Singh; Devdutt Padikkal’s 92 for India D lights up Duleep Trophy 2024

Mayank Agarwal and Pratam Singh's half-centuries helped India A reach 115 for one in their second innings and extend their hold over India D after the second day's play of the Duleep Trophy 2024. India A who scored 290 in their first innings, earlier bowled out their opponents for 183 despite India batter Devdutt Padikkal's valiant 92 to gain a lead of 107 runs.
 

India A are currently leading with 222 runs with Agarwal (56, 87b, 8x4) and Pratham (59 batting, 82b, 6x4) in the second innings. 
 

However, Agarwal, who is eager to chart his way back into the selectorial reckoning, will be kicking himself for falling on the last ball of the day to part-time spinner Shreyas Iyer, spooning a simple return catch.

But till that point, Agarwal and Pratam played fluently and executed some fluent drives and cuts as the run rate never came under four.

However, that's just one part of India A's story of domination on the day as earlier pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Aaqib Khan bagged three wickets apiece to rattle the India D line-up.

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Only one of the batters managed to withstand the relentless challenge of judgment: Devdutt Padikkal, who crafted a brilliant 92 off 124 balls, with 15 boundaries. The Karnataka left-hander, who made his Test debut earlier this year against England, was particularly aggressive against deliveries on his pads or outside off-stump.

A century seemed within his grasp, but the 24-year-old fell just eight runs short. His bid for a century ended when he attempted an ambitious shot off state-mate Prasidh Krishna and was caught easily by stumper Kumar Kushagra.

While Prasidh Krishna’s figures of 11-4-30-1 may not be considered a standout spell, they marked an important step in his comeback. This was his first competitive appearance since Karnataka's Ranji Trophy 

match against Gujarat in January, during which he was recovering from a quadricep injury.

Harshit Rana made a notable contribution with a brisk 31 off 29 balls, including two consecutive sixes off left-arm spinner Shams Mulani. However, his efforts weren’t enough to help India D close the gap with their rivals.

On the bright side, Rana's performance with the ball was commendable. He took four wickets for 51 runs in the opening session, dismissing India A for 290 in their first innings. India A, who resumed from an overnight position of 288 for eight, lost both Mulani and Aaqib to Rana’s spell.

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