Mayank Agarwal and Shashwat Rawat lead India A to 2024 Duleep Trophy win
Karnataka opener Mayank Agarwal led India A to its debut win in the 2024 Duleep Trophy on Sunday, September 22, at the Rural Development Trust Stadium, Anantapur. The three-week tournament culminated with India 'A' registering the highest number of points and taking the honor.
The final week of the tournament saw India 'A', India 'B' and India 'C' in contention to win the title. India 'D', who lost two games on the trot, were out of the way. India 'C' needed a draw to win the title while India 'A' and India 'B' needed outright wins to become the champions.
India 'A' were up against India 'C' while India 'B' took on India 'D'. The latter contest was the first one to end as chasing a target of 372, 'D' bowled out 'B' for 115 all out, keeping them away from winning the title.
Post that, it was a two-way shootout between India 'A' and India 'C'. Batting first, India 'A' posted 297, with Shashwat Rawat (124 off 150) and Avesh Khan (51 off 68) playing starring roles with the bat in hand. India 'C' could only muster 234 runs, with Abhishek Porel (82 off 113) being the only batter with a substantial score.
India 'A' added to their 63-run lead and scored 286/8d, with Riyan Parag (73 off 101) and Shashwat Rawat (53 off 67) being the main contributors. Chasing 350 runs for the title, India 'C' had only Sai Sudharshan (111 off 206) put up a big score as India 'C' were bowled out for 217.
The Duleep Trophy 2024 was handed over to the team with most points and as India 'A', with two outright wins, registered 12 points, they went on to win the trophy this year. India 'C' finished second with nine points, India 'B' took the third place with seven points to their name while India 'D' took the wooden spoon with only one outright win and six points to their name.
India 'A' won two of their three matches to lift the 2024 Duleep Trophy
India 'A' had a poor start to their tournament as they went down to India 'B' on the opening day by 76 runs. Mayank Agarwal was appointed the captain for India 'A' from the second game as Shubman Gill was called up for Team India's first Test against Bangladesh.
India 'A' beat India 'D' in their second clash, winning by 186 runs before beating India 'C' and making it 12 points. The player pool, barring Mumbai's players, will be in consideration for the Irani Cup, where Rest Of India take on Mumbai at BRSABV Ekana Stadium, Lucknow from October 1-5.