Duleep Trophy: A riveting cricket encounter happening in Duleep Trophy, the first round of which went underway on Friday (September 5). While the other match is also producing a good conteste between the bat ball, what's happening in the match between India C and India D in Anantpur is fascinating to say the least.
It's not quite common to see team struggling against pace and bounce on Indian surfaces but that is exactly what is on offer on this surface with India C getting bowled out for 168 and India D getting all out for 164, implying a 4-run first innings lead for India C. 20 wickets have fallen already in less than 2 days in this particular Duleep Trophy match, with 13 of the 20 wickets falling to pace bowling.
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Harshit Rana with figures of 4 for 33 was the pick of the bowlers for India D while Vijaykumar Vyshak who scalped 3 for 19 produced the best bowling figure by an India C bowler.
Anantpur Known To Produce Bounciest Of Surfaces
Notably, Anantpur is known to produce bounciest of surfaces. It is one Indian ground where pace has done better than spin traditionally and that is exactly what has happened in this match so far. First-class cricket is returning to the Andhra Pradesh district after a decade with this match. As many as fifteen seamers have taken a five-wicket haul at this venue, in sharp contrast to only one spinner- which tells a story in itself.
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With Anantpur offering a surface conducive for fast bowling and an Australian tour lined for India in December-January, an Indian Express report called it Anantpur's 'Perth'. The report suggests that the Indian selectors could watch out for front-line batters and fast bowling reserves during a five-match marathon Test series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.