On Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy match against India A at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on September 5, India B’s Musheer Khan played a stellar unbeaten innings of 102 off 227 balls. His performance accounted for over half of his team’s total, helping India B recover from a precarious 94-7 to finish the day at 205-7.
After the captain Abhimanyu Easwaran’s wicket was lost, Musheer strode into bat at No. 3. As he watched the fall of wickets like nine pins from one end, he seemed at risk of running out of partners on that RAF. No middle-order batsman registered double figures.
Musheer too had to contend with a formidable pace trio of Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan and Akash Deep besides the equally tough task presented by the experienced Kuldeep Yadav. However, Musheer was able to handle the left-arm spinner quite well by actually hitting a boundary on his very first ball in the 39th over of the innings.
As the day moved forward, conflict between them two continued but Musheer was in control, smashing three boundaries in a row just after half of the second session. Furthermore, Musheer made some hundred runs off Kuldeep’s bowling towards the end of the day’s play.
Musheer attributed all his experience against Kuldip to Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill who are his fellow mates in the India B team.
“This is the second time I’ve faced Kuldeep bhai. Rishabh bhai and Shubman bhai gave me insights into which deliveries from Kuldeep would be effective and which ones I could score off. Once I got set, batting became easier,” Musheer Khan said after the day’s play (via India Today).
“Playing alongside and against senior players is a great experience. Observing their mindset, confidence, and preparation is helping me grow as a cricketer,” he added.
Musheer Khan hit five of his ten fours against Kuldeep Yadav during his innings. The left-arm spinner ended the day with figures of 0-50 from 14 overs.
“I aimed to bat for as long as I could without focusing on the runs”- Musheer Khan
Under overcast conditions, India A captain Shubman Gill chose to bowl first, and the new-ball bowlers had a standout performance. The pace trio each took two wickets, and India B would have fallen to a low total if not for Musheer Khan’s exceptional innings.
“I wanted to bat as long as possible without worrying about the runs. I was focusing on playing session by session and playing the ball close to my body to avoid risky shots. And I knew the runs would come eventually,” Musheer spoke of his approach in the same interaction.
When India B was struggling at 94-7, Musheer required a dependable partner. Navdeep Saini, a last-minute replacement, stepped up, supporting Musheer with an unbeaten 29 off 74 balls.
“When wickets were falling at the other end, Saini bhai gave me confidence, assuring me he would hold his ground, no matter how many balls he faced. His steady approach helped me focus on building a partnership,” Musheer concluded.
The eighth-wicket partnership remains unbeaten at 108 runs from 212 balls.
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