Young Musheer Khan threw himself into contention for a Test spot in the upcoming series against Bangladesh with a standout 181-run knock to power India B to a first-innings total of 321 in the Duleep Trophy opener against India A, before Navdeep Saini delivered a potent new-ball spell to keep the opponents in check.

At the end of the second day’s play in Bengaluru, India A reached 134 for two with KL Rahul (23 off 80 balls) and Riyan Parag (27 off 49 balls) walking back undefeated.

Saini, who last played a Test match in 2021, reminded the selectors of his presence among the backup pace options, with crucial breakthroughs, dismissing both India A skipper Shubman Gill (25) and Mayank Agarwal (36). The two openers had added 57 runs before Saini struck right before tea, sending Gill’s stumps cartwheeling with an in-dipper after the right-hander had shown flashes of brilliance with the bat.

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. Soon after hitting a textbook cover drive against Saini, the right-hander perished to the same bowler jabbing a down-the-leg delivery to stumper Rishabh Pant.

The next pair of Rahul and Parag also had their initial struggles against the likes of Saini, Mukesh Kumar and Nitish Kumar Reddy on a pitch that still offered a good bit of assistance to the quicks. Rahul, who needed 14 balls to get off the mark, survived a drop catch at second slip by Nitish off Mukesh when the batter was on three.

Meanwhile, Parag, a natural shot-maker, too had to contain his instincts under the challenging conditions but later opened up with a glorious drive through the covers off Saini. He and Rahul ensured there were no more hiccups, and added 68 runs for the unbroken third wicket till stumps were drawn for the day.

Earlier in the day, Musheer resumed from his overnight 105, and added 76 more runs to his individual score, following the template from the first day of him controlling a large chunk of strike. He received great support from Saini, who reached his second First-Class fifty at the other end, as the duo compiled a record-breaking 205-run partnership for the eighth wicket, surpassing the previous Duleep Trophy record of 197 runs set by Abhishek Nayar and Ramesh Powar in 2010.

Musheer’s vigil finally ended shortly after lunch when he holed out to Parag in the deep off Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling. The 19-year-old Musheer’s knock marks the third-highest individual score by a teenager on debut in the Duleep Trophy, surpassing the 33-year record held by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 159 on his debut for West Zone against East Zone in 1991.

Musheer’s dismissal triggered a quick collapse, with Akash Deep cleaning up the tail to finish with figures of 4/60. Despite India B’s eventual collapse, Musheer’s heroics and Saini’s new-ball brilliance ensured the contest remained evenly poised, with India A facing an uphill battle to bridge the 187-run deficit on Day 3.

Brief Scores: India B 321 in 116 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 30, Musheer Khan 181, Navdeep Saini 56; Akash Deep 4/60) lead India A 134/2 in 35 overs (Mayank Agarwal 36, Riyan Parag 27, KL Rahul 23; Navdeep Saini 2/36) by 187 runs.

Iyer, Padikkal fifties put India D ahead despite five-star Suthar’s heroics

In the other Duleep Trophy encounter at Anantpur, the second day also belonged to the bowlers as India C left-arm spinner Manav Suthar picked a five-wicket haul to peg back India D late in the day after the team rode on counter-attacking fifties from skipper Shreyas Iyer and Devdutt Padikkal to guide the team to safety.

The left-arm orthodox claimed four wickets in his final five overs of the day to send India D tail spinning from 186 for four to 203 for eight. Axar Patel held through till stumps with India D parked at 206 for eight, 202 runs ahead on a day where 14 wickets fell in 78.2 overs.

Before Suthar turned the tide, fifties from Iyer (54, 44b, 9×4, 1×6) and Padikkal (56, 70b, 8×4) gave India D the cushion to build on with a 53-run stand for the third wicket after Vyshak Vijaykumar dismissed the openers Atharva Taide and Yash Dubey with just 40 runs on the board.

Even after Iyer’s dismissal, Padikkal held fort with Ricky Bhui (44), through a 73-run partnership but Suthar wrapped the southpaw on the glove for a soft dismissal at slip to open the door for India C.

Earlier, resuming the day at 91/4, Baba Indrajith (72, 149b, 9×4) raged a lone battle with little help from Abishek Porel (34) against the India D seamers and prevailed, pulling his side into a slender four-run lead after it was 109 for eight at one point. Harshit Rana was the pick of the bowlers for the India D side with a four-wicket burst.

Brief Scores: India D 164 (Axar Patel 86; Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/19) & 206/8 (Shreyas Iyer 54; Devdutt Padikkal 56; Ricky Bhui 44; Manav Suthar 5/30) vs India C 168 (Baba Indrajith 72; Abishek Porel 34; Harshit Rana 4/33).