Kolkata: Just when it looked like the Duleep Trophy encounter between India Red and India Blue would turn out to be an excellent contest, rains play spoilsport as a result of which played on the third day had to be abandoned at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Friday.
Earlier on the second day, India Red had piled up a huge 383 in their first innings with a scintillating maiden double hundred from bat of Baba Indrajith. India Blue fought back with fifties from Hanuma Vihari and the skipper Suresh Raina to have the game in the balance. Vihari who was unbeaten on 86* at the end of the second day’s play could only score 2 more runs while Deepak Hooda, the man at the other end was batting on 37 from 59 balls before the heavens opened up and play was stopped for the day.
The match, which earlier promised to be an exciting contest with the bat and ball now looks to be headed towards a draw with India Blue still trailing their opponents by 151 runs but with all seven wickets intact. The fourth day would have a deciding impact on the match and it would be interesting to see as to what the approach for both the teams are.
The outcome of this match is more important if seen in light of the fact that there would be just one more game left in the tournament which would be contested between India Blue and India Green, beginning on September 19 at the same venue before the final on September 25. Both teams would look to cash in on the limited time they have in this match and would undoubtedly want to end on a high.
India Red, led by Dinesh Karthik had already registered a thumping 170-run win over India Green in the first match of the competition and are at the top of the table with six points.