India A’s position was reinforced on the third day of the Duleep Trophy final round in Anantapur by Riyan Parag and Shashwat Rawat.
After taking an early lead of 63 runs, quick half-centuries from Rawat (53), and Parag (73), enabled them to extend their lead to 333 at stumps with four wickets left. Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar’s catch of Rawat ended the stand after the two had put up 105 for the fourth wicket.
In the competition, this marked Parag’s first half-century.
Along with his 124 in the opening innings, Shashwat Rawat, a 23-year-old batsman for Baroda, scored two significant centuries in the match—his sixth first-class century in just 17 games.
In 2024, three of his hundreds have occurred. The Jharkhand wicketkeeper, Kumar Kushagra, went into the day unbeaten at 40 with Tanush Kotian by his side.
Avesh Khan claimed two of the three wickets that fell, dashing India C’s chances of matching India A’s first-innings 297. Only eighteen more were added to India C’s overnight total.
Anshul Kamboj was the second wicket to fall for left-arm spinner Shams Mulani, who on Friday had dismissed top scorer Abishek Porel for 82. Mulani finished with 2 for 30.
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India A, presently ranked third in the four-team competition, needs an outright victory to be in the running for the Duleep Trophy.
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