da bwin： Only 33 overs were possible on the fourth day of the Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida where India Blue ended the day in a commanding position
da bet7k： The Report by Sirish Raghavan13-Sep-2016Stumps
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Mayank Agarwal recorded his fourth half-century score in five innings•PTI
If things had been pretty gloomy for India Red for much of the first three days of the Duleep Trophy final, the weather began to mirror their fortunes on the fourth afternoon. Early morning rain had left wet patches on the outfield, resulting in first half of the day featuring Super Soppers rather than cricketers. When the players did ultimately come out, they managed just 26 balls of play before problems with the run-up area forced them off again. After another lengthy delay, the players returned to play a further 28.4 overs.In that time, it was India Red left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav who emerged with an enhanced reputation. Bowling with far greater control than during India Blue’s marathon first innings, Kuldeep flighted the ball and even got it to dip and drift, not to mention sharp turn from a good length. He was rewarded for his control with the wickets of Gautam Gambhir and Mayank Agarwal, while legspinner Amit Mishra beat a charging Dinesh Karthik to leave India Blue three down by stumps. But with a lead that had ballooned to 476, that was not nearly enough to change the course of a match which has all but been decided going into the final day.Gambhir and Agarwal hit a flurry of boundaries off Pradeep Sangwan and Nathu Singh when the day’s play finally commenced at 6.30pm. Sangwan and Nathu were inconsistent in their line and length, and when Sangwan drew attention to an uneven stretch in the run-up area, play was suspended once again to conclude a session that had featured 32 runs in 26 balls.The resumption, after over an hour, brought with it a return to a more sedate rate of scoring, largely thanks to the control and discipline with which Kuldeep bowled. Kuldeep beat Gambhir’s edge on several occasions and even induced an edge that didn’t carry to slip. Having earned those moral victories, he duly won the battle when he got one to drift into middle stump and straighten to trap Gambhir plumb in front of middle.That brought Rohit Sharma, who came in ahead of first-innings double centurion Cheteshwar Pujara, but it was Agarwal who made most of the running. His knock of 52 featured six fours, not all of which were convincing, and there was a sense of restlessness in his strokeplay. He ultimately fell to Kuldeep, attempting a slog sweep without reaching the pitch of the ball; Nathu at deep midwicket gratefully accepted the offering. Kuldeep had his second wicket and had won the crowd over, with chants of “Kuldeep, Kuldeep” greeting him when he returned to his fielding position at the boundary.Though Mishra did not bowl with Kuldeep’s control and continued to struggle for rhythm, he was gifted a wicket when Karthik came charging down to him and got nowhere near the pitch of the ball, leaving Ankush Bains with an easy stumping. Both spinners seemed to struggle with dew towards the end of play.Meanwhile, Rohit signed off with a lofted six down the ground off Kuldeep that drew big cheers from the crowd. He will resume on day five with Ravindra Jadeja for company. It remains to be seen whether the two India players push for quick runs and a declaration or seek match practice ahead of the upcoming series against New Zealand.
