Could have gone to the bouncer option earlier to Saini: Gill

India B were 94/7 after being asked to bat first on day one of the 2024 Duleep Trophy at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Everything was going in India A’s favour but that’s when Musheer Khan finally found some support from Navdeep Saini and the two ended up putting on a partnership of 205 for the eighth wicket.

Musheer smashed 181 off 373 deliveries, while Saini scored 56 off 144. That partnership allowed India B to post a total of 321 and put India A under immense pressure on a tricky surface. India A were bowled out for 231, conceding a lead of 90. They did put up a fight in the second innings and bowled India B out for 184 but that 90-run lead was always going to come back to haunt them. 

Chasing a target of 275, Shubman Gill (21 off 35) and Riyan Parag (31 off 18) got India A off to a confident start but Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar and Navdeep Saini picked up seven wickets between them and helped India B win by 76 runs. KL Rahul (57) and Akash Deep (43) did show some fight but it was never going to be enough.

India A skipper Shubman Gill said they could have bowled a lot more bouncers to Saini in the first innings. “Musheer and Saini played really well. Seeing that there's not much happening from the wicket, we could've gone to the bouncer option earlier to Saini,” he said after India B went back with six points.

“Looking back you can point to different things. But out there we went for the option we felt was the best. The intensity with which we bowled in the second innings was commendable. Until about lunch time, we were talking that if we get a 100-run partnership, we could've got the target.”

Meanwhile, India B captain Abhimanyu Easwaran heaped heavy praise on his unit for winning the game after suffering a major collapse on day one of the game. “Coming back from 90/7 to win the game is special. To be on the winning side is really good. Had four fast bowlers and two spinners - had a great combination.”

Also read - Musheer Khan’s defiance is solid, but the world needs to be patient

Musheer was named Player of the Match. Talking about his match-winning knock and stand with Saini, the 19-year-old said: “Every ball I was encouraging (Saini) from the non-striker's end to play it out. My preparation was really good with my father. I had done well in Ranji, so I knew I could get an opportunity here.”

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