Skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Ishan Kishan tons guide India C to Deodhar Trophy title

New Delhi: India C rode on excellent centuries from skipper Ajinkya Rahane and stumper Ishan Kishan to beat India B by 29 runs and lift the Deodhar Trophy 2018-19 at the Feroz Shah Kotla here on Saturday.

Electing to bat on a placid Kotla track, Rahane (144 not out off 156 balls; 4X9, 6X3) and Kishan (114 off 87; 4X11, 6X6) raised a solid 210-run opening stand before Shuvman Gill (26) and Suryakumar Yadav (39) added some valuable runs to post a massive 352/7.

For India C, left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 3/52, while Deepak Chahar and Mayank Markande picked two wickets apiece.

In reply, India C were off to a poor start losing opener Mayank Agarwal (16) cheaply but the other opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (60 of 56; 4X7, 6X1) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (148 of 114; 4X11, 6X8) forged a solid 116-run second wicket effort to bail the team out of trouble.

Iyer went on raging a lone battle as the middle order, barring stumper Ankush Bains (37) and Deepak Chahar (21) failed to give enough support to the skipper before being eventually bowled out for 323 in 46.1 overs.

For India B, left-arm spinner Pappu Roy returned figures of 3/75 while Navdeep Saini, Rajneesh Gurbani and Vijay Shankar picked two wickets apiece.

India C skipper Rahane was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match for his match-winning effort.

Brief Scores: India C 352/7 (Ajinkya Rahane 144 not out, Ishan Kishan 114; Jaydev Unadkat 3/52) beat India B 323 (Shreyas Iyer 148, Ruturaj Gaikwad 60; Pappu Roy 3/75) by 29 runs. IANS