Parag, Rawat take India A to strong position against India C In Duleep Trophy Match

Riyan Parag and Shaswat Rawat struck fluent half-centuries to help India A tighten their grip over India C on the penultimate day of the four-day Duleep Trophy final round match here on Saturday.

Parag made 73 off 101 balls with the help of five fours and one six, while Rawat hit a stroke-filled 53 off 67 balls laced with four boundaries and one hit over the fence to take India A to 270 for six in their second innings. Skipper Mayank Agarwal made a fine 34 after opening the batting.

Parag and Rawat shared 105 for the fifth wicket as India A took their overall lead to 333 runs.

At stumps, wicket-keeper Kumar Kushagra was batting on 40 off 54 balls, while Tanush Kotian (13 not out) was giving him company with India A scoring their runs in 64 overs.

Anshul Kamboj (2/52), Gaurav Yadav (2/60) and Manav Sutar (2/75) shared six wickets between them for India C.

Earlier resuming their innings on 216 for seven in reply to India A's first innings score of 297, India C folded for 234 in 71 overs with the last three wickets adding just 18 runs.

After his exploits with the bat, Avesh Khan, who represented India in eight ODIs and 23 T20Is so far, scalped three wicket for 34 runs, while Aaqib Khan, the 20-year-old pacer from Uttar Pradesh, also chipped in with three scalps giving away 43 runs.

Brief Scores: India A: 297 & 270 for 6 in 64 overs (Riyan Parag 73, Shaswat Rawat 53; Anshul Kamboj 2/52, Gaurav Yadav 2/60, Manav Sutar 2/75) vs India C 234 all out in 71 overs (Abhishek Porel 82, Pulkit Narang 41; Aaqib Khan 3/43, Avesh Khan 3/64).