Duleep Trophy: Test discards, hopefuls fail to shine in domestic audition

It was not what West Zone captain Priyank Panchal might have wished for when electing to bat first and wanting to prove their credentials after the snub from national selectors for the tour to West Indies.

Panchal, once a third-choice opener, was not even considered. His opening partner Prithvi Shaw is slipping down the pecking order with each selection meeting. At No 3 is Cheteshwar Pujara, who according to Sunil Gavaskar was made a scapegoat for India’s loss in the WTC final, followed by Suryakumar Yadav, a surprise pick for the Australia series, but one dropped after just one Test. The fifth batsman on the team list is Sarfaraz Khan, ignored despite a mountain of runs in the last three Ranji Trophy campaigns.

But in the end, they could muster much. Shaw, dropped once on 16, made 24, Panchal 13, Pujara gritted a 102-ball 28 against an attack that has only 26 international matches in combined. Suryakumar, who kept fishing outside off, was caught in the slips, Sarfaraz was beaten for pace as he failed to get off the mark.

Fair to say, none of the five batsmen came close to prove their omission was unreasonable as two of India’s pace bowling hopefuls – Mavi and Avesh Khan – troubled them. The pair repeatedly tested the star-studded batting line-up with full deliveries that swung either way, sharp well-directed bouncers and probed the channel outside the off-stump. In the end, Baroda’s Atit Sheth (74) and Dharamendrasinh Jadeja (39) saved face.

The batting performance shed light into some unanswered questions that sprung in the wake of their non-selection. That two national selectors, despite being present in Bengaluru, watched the other semifinals between South Zone vs North Zone at M Chinnaswamy Stadium told a story in itself. It is too harsh to judge the batters’ mettle on one innings, that too their first of the season (except for Pujara, who has been playing county cricket). But for selectors it was another evidence to show that their judgement was, after all, precise.

It’s a significant tournament as well. In absence of the A tours, the Duleep Trophy performances have gained significance as the cream of the country’s best talent are featuring and a good knock or two could push their cause. A classic case was that of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored two centuries in last year’s edition before making two (213 & 144) in Irani Cup that eventually booked him a berth in India’s Test squad for West Indies.

But Mavi and Avesh, both India hopefuls, utilised the break and bowled testing lines. Shaw and Panchal were watchful at the start. The two openers were not in total control, but they were neither playing loosely or away from the body. The cloud cover ensured that the seamers were always in the business and the batsmen were going to be tested regularly as long as they kept a tight line and length. It is the sort of day where batsmen need to swallow their ego and play the conditions.

Out of the five, Shaw would consider himself unlucky. He tried to punch left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar through the vacant cover region, only for the ball to get stuck in the legs of Dhruv Jurel at silly-point, who managed to control the catch with his hands. But in his 54-ball stay, Shaw was mostly loose outside off-stump and even had a close lbw shout turned down when Avesh brought one back – a delivery that has troubled him all along his career. In the next over, Yash Thakur pinned Panchal down, his feet crease-tied as he played all over an in-swinger, leaving the rebuilding job to Pujara and Suryakumar.

Same old flaw

Even though Pujara got down to doing what he knows best – constructing an innings – he hardly showed signs of overcoming his biggest short-coming. The reason India have looked beyond the defence of Pujara is his failure to rotate strikes, leading the bowlers to pin him at one end, thereby putting pressure on the other batsmen. It continued either side of the lunch here as well, before he perished playing a cut shot with both his feet in the air, as first slip took the edge that flew off Pujara’s blade.

Suryakumar lasted only 13 deliveries. But it was an event in itself when he got his only boundary by opening the face of the bat to fetch a boundary behind the V on the offside. While there are no questions about his T20 prowess, he has not yet shown the adaptability to situations in longer formats.

In conditions where he ought to have left the deliveries more often, he was constantly looking to put bat on ball before he was undone by the corridor of uncertainty. Mavi, who returned for his second spell, was landing the ball back of length and making the ball leave the right-handers, confusing them whether to go back or forward. These are deliveries Suryakumar rarely faces in T20s. The 12th ball he faced, he tried to drive on the move. The outside edge carried to second slip, where Vivek spilled it. Mavi, though, didn’t fret. He lured him again with the same delivery next ball and Suryakumar fell for it again. But this time Dhruv Jurel, who had replaced Vivek at second slip, dived to his right to complete the catch

It was over to Sarfaraz. While his fitness has been an issue, doing rescue acts is not new to the 25-year-old. He has shown a tendency to thrive in such situations, where he would bat out the challenging period and cash in when the bowlers tire. But he hasn’t shown it consistently against quality attacks and his ability to confront the extra yard of pace was once again tested. When he started leaving deliveries outside off confidently like he does, it seemed more or less certain that he would stick to his success plan. But Mavi got one to climb awkwardly and Sarfaraz hung his left-hand up, only for the ball to ricochet onto the stumps. Thus fizzled out the much-fancied top five. Some of them— Suryakumar, Shaw and Sarfaraz—cut a sombre figure as they walked to the team bus under dark clouds that captured their mood.