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India B captain Abhimanyu Easwaran single-handedly kept his team in the hunt with a defiant century against India C, on Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy match, at the Rural Development Trust Stadium, Anantapur, on Saturday.
Easwaran was unbeaten on a fine knock of 143 from 262 balls, hitting 12 fours and a six, to rally India C to 309/7 in 101 overs at stumps on Day 3. They still trail India C by 216 runs, who posted a massive 525 in their first innings.
Bengal batter Easwaran will be key to India's hopes, who need another 66 runs to avoid a follow-on with just three wickets in hand.
Day 3 of the tie belonged to India B skipper, who scored a patient hundred amid a procession of wickets at the other end with India C pacer Anshul Kamboj picking up a five-wicket haul (5/66 in 23.5 overs).
Undaunted by the fall of wickets at the other end, Bengal batter Easwaran kept frustrating the India C bowlers, though he still has work to do on Sunday to avoid a follow-on.
Commencing the day at 124 for no loss with Easwaran (overnight 51 not out) and Narayan Jagadeesan (overnight 67 not out) holding fort, India B were rattled quite early when Kamboj struck in only the fourth over of the morning session.
The 23-year-old Haryana pacer, who had played a few matches for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2024, got rid of the dangerous Jagadeesan who added just three runs to his personal score, getting the Tamil Nadu batter caught by wicketkeeper Abhishek Porel for 70, thus breaking the 129-run partnership.
Kamboj then had brothers Musheer and Sarfaraz Khan cheaply for 1 and 16 runs respectively before accounting for hard-hitter Rinku Singh (6) and Nithis Kumar Reddy (2) to completely destabilise India B.
At 194/5, things looked bleak for Easwaran's side, but the skipper took it upon himself to shore up his side amid some hostile bowling by Kamboj. He stitched together a 43-run partnership with Washington Sundar (13) and then a 46-run stand with Sai Kishore (21) to repair the damage.
At stumps, Rahul Chahar (18 not out) was giving Easwaran company but with just three wickets left, it could be a difficult task for India B to avoid a follow-on.
India C skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad could even decide against enforcing a follow-on, given tomorrow is the last day of the contest and they could be assured of three vital points if they take the first innings lead.
However, if Gaikwad enforces the follow-on and wins the match, his team will earn six points.
Brief Scores:
India B 309/7 in 101 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 143 not out, Narayan Jagadeesan 70; Anshul Kamboj 5/66) vs India C 525 all in 124.1 overs