Duleep Trophy: Khaleel shines for India A, Samson, Shreyas disappoint with bat

Khaleel has struggled to establish his place as a mainstay pacer in the Indian team. After a decent outing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), he is slowly making his way back into the team.

After picking a five-wicket haul in the first round of the Duleep Trophy, Khaleel continued to shine with the red ball in his hand.

After Yash Dayal was preferred over Khaleel for India's first Test against Bangladesh, the 26-year-old quick made a strong case for his place in the squad.

With a mix of swing and seam, Khaleel rattled India D's top-order, with Aaqib providing the ideal support.

He bowled just eight overs but thrived on a surface where he could extract late swing and bounce.

Khaleel kept Atharva Taide guessing and produced a wild inswinger to pin him in front of the stumps. He made India D skipper Shreyas Iyer his next target. In his second over, he removed Iyer for a seven-ball duck.

In the seven balls that Iyer encountered, he struggled to deal with the away swing and a short ball that came his way. He tried to open his account by going over mid-on but didn't fully commit to his shot.

For his third wicket, Khaleel mirrored Zaheer Khan and created an angle from around the stumps. He curved the delivery back into Ricky Bhui to trap him in front of the stumps. He ended the first inning with figures of 3/39.

On the other hand, Aaqib, who doesn't boast pace, thrived while relying on his line and length. He struck early in his spell by dismissing Yash Dubey for a score of 3. Aaqib returned to end Samson's stay on 5(6). He ended his spell with figures of 3/41.

As star-studded players tumbled one after another, Devdutt Padikkal took the mantle of scoring runs. His assured cover drives and flawless backfoot technique saw him pick up runs with ease. The left-handed batter lost his wicket to Prasidh Krishna with a score of 92(124). Harshit Rana provided a handy contribution with the bat of 31 to propel India D score to 183.

With a lead of 107 runs, India A opening duo, Mayank Agarwal and Pratham Singh, were quick off the blocks. They forged a 115-run opening stand before Mayank (56) was dimissed by Shreyas Iyer. India A ended the day with a 222-run lead.

In the second game between India C and India B, Manav Suthar built on Ishan Kishan's century on the opening day. Suthar relied on his technique and raised his bat for his fourth half-century in First-Class cricket.

Suthar (82) fell 18 runs short of a ton after Rahul Chahar breached his defence. His strong outing with the bat propelled India C to a mammoth total of 525.

In reply, skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran and Narayan Jagadeesan fought back strongly to an unbeaten 124-run opening stand. After a disappointing show with the bat in the first round, Abhimanyu faced 145 balls, struck seven fours, and ended the day with a score of 51*.

His partner Jagadeesan, who came in as Rishabh Pant's replacement, got off to a promising start and will look to build on it. He ended the day with a score of 67* as India B trailed by 401 runs. (ANI)