Duleep Trophy 2024: Rishabh Pant's Fifty, Sarfaraz Khan's Aggression Give India B Control Against India A

The audacity of Rishabh Pant, who made a fifty, and Sarfaraz Khan helped India B waddle past persistent India A pacers to post a momentum grabbing second innings total of 150 for six after Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy match in Bengaluru on Saturday. India B are now ahead by 240 runs with Washington Sundar (6) at crease after bowling out their rivals for 231 in their first innings to take a 90-run lead. Pant was the headliner of the day with a 61 off 47 balls (4x9, 6x2). But that lead suddenly looked so feeble when pacers Khaleel Ahmed (2/56) and Akash Deep (2/36) combined to reduce India B to 22 for three inside eight overs, overall lead standing at 132 at that point.

Skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran and first innings centurion Musheer Khan (0) fell to Akash Deep, while Yashasvi Jaiswal perished to Ahmed, and all three catches were taken by stumper Dhruv Jurel. India B went to tea at 33 for three.

In that context, it would not have been entirely out of place to imagine for Pant and Sarfaraz (46, 36b, 7x4, 1x6) to knuckle down and take their team to safer ports as the ball was still darting around appreciably.

However, both of them were irreverent to the situation, conditions, and bowlers.

The right-left combination hammered 72 runs from a shade over nine overs to tilt the balance of the match completely in favour of their team.

Sarfaraz was brutal on Akash, smoking him for five consecutive fours around the park while Pant neutralised Ahmed with a late cut and punch through the covers that galloped to the fence for boundaries.

Sarfaraz, who was dropped on 28 by Ahmed off his own bowling, creamed a flat six off the left-arm seamer over cover, evoking a wowing response from a good holiday crowd.

But he soon fell to Avesh Khan,