India Blue in driver’s seat

India Blue had gained a mammoth first-innings lead of 470 runs against India Green on the penultimate day of their Duleep Trophy clash at Greater Noida on Tuesday.

Riding on the impressive performance of their bowlers who showed great discipline, India Blue look well-palced to make the final later this week.

India Blue captain Gautam Gambhir deserves credit for rotating his bowlers well and relied on the spinners through the middle overs to make sure his quicks got adequate rest and were ready when it was twilight, which is when the pink ball traditionally swings a little more than it should.

When stumps were drawn, India Blue were 85/0 with Gambhir batting on 36 and keeping him company was Mayank Agarwal who is unbeaten on 49. Earlier, Abhimanyu Mithun and leg-spinner Karn Sharma were the pick of the bowlers taking three wickets apiece to skittle out India Green for a paltry 237.

Scores: India Blue 707 & 85/0 in 26 overs (G. Gambhir 36*, M. Agarwal 49*) vs India Green 237 (S. Raina 52, A. Mithun 3/16, K. Sharma 3/74).