Duleep Trophy 2024/25, IND-A vs IND-B First Match Report, September 05 – 08, 2024

India B 202 for 7 (Musheer 105*, Jaiswal 30, Saini 29*, Akash 2-28, Khaleel 2-39, Avesh 2-42) vs. India A

India B badly needed Musheer’s pluck when they were cut to size by the pace trio of Khaleel, Akash Deep and Avesh Khan. And he delivered: batting over five hours for an unbeaten 105 that helped lift India B from 94 for 7 to 202 for 7 at stumps.

After coming in at No. 3, Musheer soon saw the stars – Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz and Rishabh Pant – fall into the post-lunch pile. While the batting is tough, most of the wickets came from the shots created by the pressure the fast bowlers bowled early on.

Abhimanyu Easwaran chased a delivery on the seventh or eighth stump. Jaiswal was caught somewhere between trying to drive and cutting, and he was pointed. Sarfaraz was stuck playing near his front pad. Pant got Shubman Gill running at mid-on, he went forward to a ball that hit more than he expected. Apart from Nitish Reddy, who was out with an unplayable Akash delivery targeting the seam to hit the top, the top order bore the brunt of their undoing.

Musheer has absorbed all this from the other side. The fast bowling trio tests his edges again and again; he could have been caught by Akash’s slips, on the second ball he faced. During his first half hour at the crease, he struggled to measure the zip on the green where there was exaggerated seam movement.

In an attempt to combat it, Musheer tried to go down the pitch to the fast bowlers.

“It was based on the wicket and the conditions,” he said further explaining. “The ball was crossing the wicket and swinging again, so I was trying to get closer to the [pitch of] the ball as much as possible, don’t give it a chance to swing.”

Although this was not a bad plot, he had a hard time when he was recently killed, especially with Khaleel and Akash dove on both sides. Even Shivam Dube’s long balls went in faster than Musheer expected and he hit the post as he was walking. He survived a near lbw shout.

At lunch, he was 6 off 52 balls, seemingly unsure of where his runs would land. But where others fell to forcing the pace, Musheer fought back through verses even when eloquence left him and survival seemed his only option.

Musheer explained his thinking at the end of the day’s play: “I was looking to collect whatever runs came my way, and not go for runs.”

Every now and then, Akash turns into a power ball, doing unexpected things off the field. The ball to Nitish in his second spell was one example. On another day, Akash could easily have taken three wickets with his new ball, but on this day he finished with figures of 8-3-7-0.

There was much of the same energy from Avesh, who was introduced as the first change, as he built on that early pressure by hitting the deck and getting some impressive movement in the seam. And this relentless pressure was put on the batsmen for the better part of the first two sessions.

It wasn’t until the first sign of spin that Musheer looked out of his comfort zone. He welcomed his Mumbai counterpart Tanush Kotian with a soft paddle. Every time, Musheer saw warning signs to hold back, like when Kuldeep Yadav’s first delivery flew high. And he quickly dusted himself off to refocus and seize the moment. And as he did, the smoothness returned. Out came a bloody sweep and steps to lift Kotian with spin as he neared his century.

At one point in the last session, Musheer and Navdeep Saini having bowled more than 20 overs, Avesh decided to take the short ball route with two men back to leg to pull. The same fast bowlers who were calling goals at the start of the day have now stopped using the strategy that made Musheer look futile at the end of a long day. There could be no greater validation of his efforts.

When Musheer took off his hat and looked skyward, letting go of his pent-up emotions and hoisting his bat into the dressing room after bringing up his third first-class century, Sarfaraz was among the first to jump from his seat in celebration. It was a sad time too; For the better part of the last four seasons, Musheer has done all the applause. Now it was time for my big brother to return the favor, and he was only too happy to oblige.

Musheer is only 19 years old and has big challenges ahead of him. But so far, he has proved, whether in Mumbai or to the national selectors who awarded him the Duleep Trophy, that he is completely at home.