Duleep Trophy: Shreyas Iyer, Ricky Bhui heroics help India D seize control

Duleep Trophy: Ricky Bhui neared his century while Shreyas Iyer scored a fifty to hand India D control in their match against Abhimanyu Easwaran's India C. India D led by 311 runs after Day 3 with 5 wickets in hand.

Ricky Bhui was 10 runs short of his second successive hundred as India D's overall lead swelled to 311 against India B when stumps were drawn on the third day of the Duleep Trophy encounter here on Saturday.

Shreyas Iyer also showcased his form with a purposeful half-century for India D, scoring 50 off 40 balls. At stumps, India D scored 244 for 5 in their second innings, with Bhui unbeaten on 90 off just 87 balls, featuring 10 fours and 3 sixes.

Earlier, India B were all out for 282 in their first innings, replying to India D's first essay of 349. Starting the day at 210 for 6, Washington Sundar (87) ran out of partners, as none of the tail-enders stayed long enough to give him an opportunity to complete his hundred. His 140-ball knock included 7 fours and a six.

Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar, who has been on the fringes for a long time, finished with figures of 5 for 73, while Arshdeep Singh couldn't add to his overnight tally of three victims.

In the second innings, India D quickly slumped to 18 for 3 by the start of the fourth over, but Iyer and Bhui counter-attacked with great disdain, adding 75 runs in just 10.3 overs. Iyer was eventually holed out by Mohit Avasthi off Mukesh Kumar, who took three wickets despite going for 80 runs in his 13 overs. Iyer struck 7 fours and a six.

Bhui continued from where Iyer left off and found an able ally in Sanju Samson (45 off 53 balls), adding another 68 runs for the fifth wicket in 17.1 overs. Samson also hit a couple of maximums along with five boundaries.

Bhui was at his offensive best when joined by young Assam all-rounder Akash Sengupta (28 not out), as they added another 83 for the unbroken sixth wicket in under 13 overs.

In fact, India D scored runs at a brisk pace of over five and a half runs per over and have a realistic chance of going for a win on Sunday if they can add a few more runs in an hour and set a 375-run target in 75 overs for the B team.

Brief Scores

India D: 349 and 244/5 in 44 overs (Ricky Bhui 90 not out, Shreyas Iyer 50, Sanju Samson 45; Mukesh Kumar 3/80, Navdeep Saini 2/40)

India B: 282 in 76.2 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 116, Washington Sundar 87; Saurabh Kumar 5/73, Arshdeep Singh 3/50)