Some of India's Test regulars, along with those vying for a place in the team, are battling it out in the ongoing Duleep Trophy as they seek to impress the selectors ahead of the two Test series against Bangladesh later this month.
Axar Patel has been the top performer among India's Test regulars with a superb all-round showing for India D. Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant failed to make it count on the first two days.
A look at how the India Test regulars and discards fared over the first two days in the opening round matches of te Duleep Trophy:
Shubman Gill
Gill must rue throwing away a good start in his first red ball game after a while.
India A Captain Gill perished for 25 following a poor judgement while leaving the ball. He offered no shot to the length ball from pacer Navdeep Saini, which swung back in sharply to strike the stumps.
Gill looked in good touch as he got going with a couple of fours off Mukesh Kumar in the sixth over but he was not able to carry on.
Yashasvi Jaiswal
India B opener Jaiswal was also guilty of the same mistake of not carrying on after getting off to a good start.
The young left-hander made a confident start with a cracking boundary off the first ball of the match, hitting pacer Khaleel Ahmed through the covers.
He went on to hit Khaleel for a few more boundaries before the left-arm pacer had the last laugh.
After batting in tough conditions in the first hour on Day 1, Jaiswal perished to a careless shot, cutting Khaleel straight to the fielder at point to be dismissed for 30.
K L Rahul
India A's K L Rahul looks keen to get back in the scheme of things in Test cricket.
On a tough pitch at M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru, where the pacers got a lot of assistance on Day 2, Rahul showed great application to be unbeaten on 23, putting on an unbroken stand of 68 runs for the third wicket with Riyan Parag.
Rahul, who took 14 balls to get off the mark, got a lifeline early on when he was put down at second slip by Nitish Reddy off pacer Mukesh Kumar when he was batting on three.
Rishabh Pant
India B wicket-keeper-batter Rishabh Pant looked quite sharp with the gloves and took a superb diving catch to his left to dismiss Mayank Agarwal off Navdeep Saini.
But Pant's batting was a big disappointment. Without getting a measure of the conditions on the opening day, he looked to assert his domination. Trying to loft pacer Akash Deep down the ground he holed out to Gill at mid-off and was dismissed for seven.
Axar Patel
Axar Patel continued his fine showing across formats.
On a tough first day pitch, Axar rescued India D with an aggressive knock of 86 from 118 balls, which included six sixes and as many fours as he single-handedly pushed them above the 150 run mark.
With the ball he made an impact, taking 2/46 in 13 overs on Day 2 as he dismissed Aryan Juyal and Rajat Patidar.
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer boosted his chances of a Test comeback with a counter-attacking fifty.
India D Captain Iyer smashed an entertaining 54 from 44 balls, hitting nine fours and a six, to revive his team after a couple of early wickets.
Devdutt Padikkal
India D batter Devdutt Padikkal, who hit a fifty on Test debut against England in March, also stayed in the mix with a solid half-century.
Left-hander Padikkal, who stroked 56 from 70 balls, was involved in two crucial partnerships to help India D build the lead on Day 2. He added 53 for the third wicket with Shreyas before putting on 73 runs for the fourth wicket with Ricky Bhui.
Sarfaraz Khan]
India B's Sarfaraz Khan, who made his Test debut during the England series, struggled against the pacers on a tough pitch.
Sarfaraz, who batted at No 4, struggled to nine from 35 balls before he missed the flick off pacer Avesh Khan and was trapped leg before wicket.
Kuldeep Yadav
India A spinner Kuldeep Yadav could not weave his magic on a pitch which suited the seamers on the opening day.
He toiled hard on the opening day without success, conceding 50 runs in 14 overs. On Day 2, he could not make much of an impact. He was finally rewarded in his 19th over when he got the big wicket of Musheer Khan, who top edged the slog sweep and was caught at deep square leg after scoring 181.
Kuldeep finished with 1/82 in 21 overs, going at nearly four per over.
Dhruv Jurel
Dhruv Jurel, who made his debut as wicket-keeper in Tests against England earlier this year, had a fine outing with the gloves on Day 1.
Playing for India A, Jurel took a wonderful catch diving full length to his right to pouch it front of first slip to dismiss Abhimanyu Easwaran off Avesh Khan.
Akash Deep
India A pace bowler Akash Deep was the standout bowler on the opening day.
Akash, who made an impressive in the England Test series earlier this year, ran through the India B middle order.
He finished with impressive figures of 4/60 in 27 overs, including the key wicket of Pant.
Mukesh Kumar
India B speedster Mukesh Kumar, who has played three Tests for India, went wicketless on the second day.
Mukesh also struggled with his control as he conceded 40 runs in his nine overs.
Navdeep Saini
Navdeep Saini will be hoping his fine all-round showing takes him to a Test selection, after nearly four years.
Saini, who played a couple of Tests in Australia in 2021, chipped in with a vital knock of 56 at No 9. He was involved in a 205 run stand for the eighth wicket with Musheer Khan to give India B the upperhand on the opening day.
He then made a difference with the ball on the second day, dismissing both India A openers -- getting rid of Shubman Gill (25) and Mayank Agarwal (36).
K S Bharat
K S Bharat failed to come up with a sizeable knock which could dent his Test hopes.
Bharat, who took three catches, managed a total of just 29 runs in the two innings.
