Mayank Agarwal (161) and Gautam Gambhir (90) once again cracked a massive opening stand (212) as India Blue finished in a position of command against India Green in Greater Noida at the end of day one. Cheteshwar Pujara (63 not out) also looked in fine touch as India Blue finished at 336/3, losing a couple of wickets towards the close of play in a day dominated by batsmen.
Agarwal and Gambhir amassed their second 150-run in the week, and this time, the batsmen looked more assured of their shotmaking. There were no signs of even half-chances on offer as the India Green bowlers toiled through the day with little rewards to show for it. The lengths went awry for the pacers and the spinners, and a huge first-innings score looks certain on the cards.
Pujara also looked comfortable when he came on, playing the sheet anchor's role to perfection whilst picking the gaps with ease when there were scoring opportunities. The incessant rains over the past week did nothing to aid the bowling attack. Only Jalaj Saxena showed any signs of putting the batsmen under pressure. For young Jasprit Bumrah, it was a tough lesson against seasoned batsmen, and was put to the sword.
Salvation came late in the day for India Green, when Gambhir decided to make the dash for a needless second after nudging the ball behind backward-square leg. After missing out on a hundred last week, Agarwal did not take any needless risks. Even the slower bowlers, Shreyas Gopal and Pragyan Ojha, did not look like troubling the batters. With time running out on day one, Dinda dismissed Agarwal through a well-directed short ball, which the batsman pulled straight to Ankit Rajpoot. Bumrah got rid of Siddhesh Lad with four overs left for the day to end.
Brief scores:
India Blue 336/3 (Mayank Agarwal 161, Gautam Gambhir 90, Cheteshwar Pujara 63 not out; Ashok Dinda 1/54) vs India Green