India B opener Abhimanyu Easwaran continued to bat confidently as he scored a defiant century to guide his team to 309/7 against India C in their Duleep Trophy match here on Saturday.
Despite Easwaran’s unbeaten 143, India B trail India C by 216 runs and require 66 more runs to avoid a follow-on with just three wickets in hand. India C had scored a mammoth 525 in their first innings with Ishan Kishan scoring a century.
Easwaran, who plays for Bengal, scored a patient, unbeaten 262-ball 143 amid a procession of wickets with India C pacer Anshul Kamboj recording a five-wicket haul (5/66).
Brothers Musheer and Sarfaraz Khan fell cheaply for 1 and 16 runs, while Rinku Singh (6) too failed for India B. Undaunted by the fall of wickets at the other end, Easwaran kept frustrating the India C bowlers. But he still has a lot to do on Sunday.
Men of centuries
In the other match, Tilak Varma and Pratham Singh made hundreds to drive India A to a commanding position against India D.
Varma hit an unbeaten 111 (193 balls, 9x4), while Pratham made an impressive 122 (189 balls, 12x4, 1x6) as India A declared their second innings closed at 380/3.
It gave them an overall lead of 487, and India D have chiselled off 62 from the target
of 488 for the loss of Atharva Taide.
Ricky Bhui (44) and Yash Dubey (15) were at the crease for India D.
Though Riyan Parag could not give a good account of himself being dismissed for 20, Varma found an able partner in Shashwat Rawat (64 not out, 7x4) to keep India A in control.
Summarised scores
- India C 525. India B 309/7 (Abhimanyu Easwaran batting 143, Narayan Jagadeesan 70; Anshul Kamboj 5/66)
- India A 290 & 380/3 decl. (Pratham Singh 122, Tilak Varma 111 not out). India D 183 & 62/1 (Ricky Bhui 44 batting)
Both scores at stumps, Day III.