Dhawan, Sharma to play Duleep Trophy final

Sport360 staff 11:17 08/09/2016
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  • Shikhar Dhawan is unlikely to make the Indian Test XI against New Zealand due to KL Rahul's form

    The moment India Blue posted 707 all-out, the final stage of the Duleep Trophy against India Green was destined for a draw. India Blue came into the match knowing that in doing so they would be assured of a place in the final.

    India Blue won the toss and elected to bat at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground on Sunday and after a 212-run partnership for the first wicket between Mayank Agarwal and Gautam Gambhir, they were in cruise control. Gambhir was eventually out for 90, but Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara and Sheldon Jackson all slammed centuries.

    The India Green bowlers were forced to toil, with Karnataka leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal the standout performer, picking up five wickets for 173 runs.

    The India Green batsmen came out to bat with a huge task ahead of them. They knew they had to score 708 runs to book themselves in the final, but it was always going to be an improbable task.

    After losing Test opener Murali Vijay for just six, India Green never looked to be in any position to get anywhere close to the total they required to get. In the end, they were bowled out for 237 despite a fighting 43-ball 52 from captain Suresh Raina.

    Abhimanyu Mithun and Karn Sharma were the pick of the bowlers for India Green, with three wickets a piece.

    India Blue, instead of making their opponents follow on, came out to bat again to ensure that the match ended in a dull draw to guarantee their place in the final against Yuvraj Singh’s India Red.

    OJHA’S FREAK INJURY

    There was a scary moment on day four as Pragyan Ojha suffered a freak head injury while fielding at mid-on.

    A shot from Pankaj Singh bounced awkwardly in front of him, only to hit him on his head and force the player off on a stretcher.

    The BCCI later tweeted a picture of him stating that he’s ‘fine’.

    DHAWAN, ROHIT TO PLAY FINAL

    In other news, five Indian Test cricketers who were part of the squad that recently toured West Indies have been added to the India Red and India Blue squads for the final.

    Shikhar Dhawan, Stuart Binny and Amit Mishra will play for India Red while Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja will turn out for India Blue.

    Here are the squads for the final:

    India Red

    Yuvraj Singh (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Abhinav Mukund, Sudip Chatterjee, Gurkeerat Singh, Ankush Bains, Stuart Binny, Akshay Wakhare, Kuldeep Yadav, Amit Mishra, Nathu Singh, Anureet Singh, Ishwar Pandey, Nitish Rana, Pradeep Sangwan.

    India Blue

    Gautam Gambhir (c), Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal, Siddhesh Lad, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Parvez Rasool, Suryakumar Yadav, Karn Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohit Sharma, Pankaj Singh, Abhimanyu Mithun, Sheldon Jackson, Hanuma Vihari.

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