Australia couldn’t manage to put a huge pressure of runs on the shoulders of the Indians. KL Rahul and the Indian captain Rohit Sharma came to bat while trailing by just 177 runs. Even though Rohit managed to stay, Rahul walked off the pitch after scoring just 20 runs. He joined the Men in Blue immediately after he is done with his marriage, but showed no positive indications. On the other hand, Mayank Agarwal smashed 249 runs in one inning in the Ranji Trophy semi-finals. The selectors may divert their sights toward Agarwal a bit too.
Indian team has three openers- Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, and Shubman Gill. If Rahul gets dropped out or gets pushed down the order, Shubman will obviously get a chance in the first eleven. But Mayank, who has been terrific in domestic cricket, can also claim a spot in the team. He also scored consecutive runs in the group stage of Ranji. Mayank scored a century and a double century in the group stage. This time he scored a double century against Saurashtra in the semi-final. He brought the team to 407 runs. Playing against that run, Saurashtra lost 2 wickets for 76 runs.
Srinivasa to cross 20 run barrier, other than Mayank Agarwal
Apart from Mayank, only one of Karnataka’s batsmen, Srinivasa Sharat, scored big. He scored 66 runs. None of the rest could cross the 20-run barrier. Chetan Sakaria and Kushang Patel took three wickets each for Saurashtra. Chirag Jani and Prerak Makand took one wicket each. Two of Karnataka’s batters were run out.
Saurashtra opener Snell Patel and No.3 Vishwaraj Jadeja are out. They lost 2 wickets for 76 runs. Opener Harvick Desai and Sheldon Jackson at number four are at the crease. Both are unbeaten on 27 runs. Vidwath Kaveerappa took both wickets. Mayankra will want to pick up the remaining 8 wickets of Saurashtra on the third day to reach the Ranji final.
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