Navdeep Saini reminded of his presence among the fringe pacers with a quality new ball spell that helped India B to keep India A in check at 134 for two in the first innings at close on the second day of their Duleep Trophy match here on Friday.

India B needed their bowlers to carry on the excellent effort of Musheer Khan (181, 16x4, 5x6) that powered them to 321 in their first innings.

KL Rahul (23 batting) and Riyan Parag (27 batting) are at the crease at stumps.

Saini, who is out of favour since the 2021 away series against Australia, showed some spark to eke out the wickets of India A skipper Shubman Gill (25) and his opening partner Mayank Agarwal (36).

Gill, who crunched a couple of exquisite fours off left-arm seamer Yash Dayal, shouldered arms to an incoming delivery that crashed onto the stumps.

Agarwal, who is also on a comeback trail after going out of favour since the 2022 Pink Ball Test against Sri Lanka here, looked comfortable during his stay in the middle.

The right-hander fell to Saini, jabbing a down-the-leg delivery to stumper Rishabh Pant, who made an acrobatic dive to his left to complete a wonderful catch.

Parag and Rahul, who looked far more comfortable as the innings progressed, have added 68 runs for the unbroken third wicket so far.

Earlier, Musheer was all timing and confidence in the first session as the Mumbai batter continued to pile runs in the company of Saini.

Musheer, who was unbeaten on 105 overnight, added another 76 to his individual score. Saini too gave him solid support, reaching his second first-class fifty, as India B went through second successive session without losing a wicket, while adding 88 runs off 30 overs.

But Musheer’s 484-minute stay at the crease ended in the second over after lunch when he clanged Kuldeep Yadav to Parag in the deep.

It also signalled the end of their stunning 205-run partnership, the highest for the eighth wicket in Duleep Trophy history.

Their stand surpassed the 197 runs added for the eighth wicket by Abhishek Nayar and Ramesh Powar in 2010.

Once Musheer departed, India B innings folded quickly as pacer Akash Deep returned with a haul of four for 60.

In Anantapur, fluent fifties from skipper Shreyas Iyer and Devdutt Padikkal saw India D stretch their lead to 202 runs against India C.

Rajasthan left-arm spinner Manav Suthar was the star of the day for India C, returning figures of 5/30 in 15 overs.

Seeking to make an India comeback, Iyer struck 54 off 44 balls, including nine fours and a six, while Padikkal compiled a 56-run knock off 70 balls, hitting eight boundaries.

At stumps, India D were 206/8 in their second innings with Axar Patel and Harishit Rana at the crease.

Summarised scores

In Bengaluru: India B 321 (Musheer Khan 181, Navdeep Saini 56; Akash Deep 4/60). India A 134/2 (Mayank Agarwal 36, Riyan Parag 27 batting, KL Rahul 23 batting; Navdeep Saini 2/36).

In Anantapur: India D 164 & 206/8 (Shreyas Iyer 54, Devdutt Padikkal 56; Manav Suthar 5/30). India C 168 (Baba Indrajith 72; Harshit Rana 4/33).