After the third day of their Duleep Trophy match here on Saturday, Tilak Varma and Pratham scored easy hundreds to put India A ahead of India D.
With an unbeaten 111 (193 balls, 9×4), Varma did not derail his hopes of continuing to be seen in the Indian system. Meanwhile, Pratham hit a remarkable 122 (189 balls, 12×4, 1×6), and India A declared their second innings ended at 380 for three.
With Atharva Taide out of the picture, India D managed to cut 62 runs off their 488 target, giving them an overall lead of 487.
For India D, the crease was manned by Yash Dubey (15) and Ricky Bhui (44).
Following his return from the overnight 59, Pratham played with more fluency and completed his 100 in just 149 balls during the first session.
But before the conclusion of the first session, the 32-year-old Railways hitter was dismissed by left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar. Pratham and Varma combined for 104 runs at the second wicket.
Nevertheless, Varma, who was once considered by Rohit Sharma to be India’s next all-format player, performed admirably, finishing undefeated at 60 after reaching his fifty a little sooner off 96 balls. India A began the day at 115 for one and had a respectable 260 for two for lunch.
However, soon after things resumed, India After 20 years without Riyan Parag, Varma discovered Shashwat Rawat to be an equally committed partner.
Without breaking apart, the fourth-wicket combination scored 116 runs, giving India A total command of the game.
With a late cut to the third man region off off-spinner Saransh Jain, which brought the left-hander two runs, Varma achieved his fifth First-Class hundred. He reached his century off 177 balls.
After reaching 370 for three at the end of the tea break, India A batted for almost fifteen minutes in the final session before calling the innings ended.
Even though pacer Khaleel Ahmed dismissed India D’s starter Taide in the third over, Dubey and Bhui made sure that their team would not suffer any more losses going into the final day.
Brief Scores:
India A: 290 all out and 380 for 3 declared in 98 overs (Pratham Singh 122, Tilak Varma 111 not out, Shashwat Rawat 64 not out) vs India D: 183 all out and 62/1 in 19 overs (Ricky Bhui batting 44).
