Deodhar Trophy 2019-20, Match 2: India A v India C – Preview, prediction, likely XIs

The second match of the Deodhar Trophy will be played between India A and India C on November 1. After a disaster in their first game, India A will try to bounce back whereas India C will begin their campaign.

Chasing 303 was never going to be easy. But the way India A were wrapped up for only 194. Ruturaj Gaikwad (113) and Baba Aparajith (101) helped India B put the mammoth total. In reply, only the skipper Hanuma Vihari could try to show some resistance and scored 59 runs but did not get any support from his teammates. The second highest scorer for India A was Ishan Kishan who scored 26 runs. Once Devdutt Padikkal was dismissed in the 9^th over, the wickets started falling at regular intervals. Vihari did try to build a partnership with Amandeep Khare (25) and Ishan Kishan but those were not enough.

But the takeaway for India A was certainly their skipper. With 42/2 when the team needed guidance, Vihari stepped in. If he would have stayed till the end, the result could have been different. On the other hand, as expected Jaydev Unadkat (2/47) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/40) did have good outings but overall the bowling unit ended up conceding a bunch of runs to India B. Vihari used six bowlers but failed to restrict the rampage led by Ruturaj. Overall it was a collective failure for India A and they must focus on it before taking on the field against India C.

For India C, this is a good opportunity to seal the first match. The youngsters will be charged up to face a devastated India A. Shubman Gill is definitely the man the whole team will look up to. Gill often makes headlines nowadays with his heroics and now once again has the opportunity to show off his leading skills. Apart from Gill, Avesh Khan and Ishan Porel are two upcoming stars that will attract the spectators. India C boast of experienced players like Dinesh Karthik and Mayank Agarwal can guide in difficult situations. Agarwal scored a fluent match-winning 69* in the final of Vijay Hazare Trophy after his Two Test tons against South Africa.  He will try to continue with the form.

Overall India C have enough potential enough to hand over another defeat to India A.

Key players

Devdutt Padikkal (India A)-He failed in the first fixture and was dismissed for only 10 runs. But the man is in form and recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy is an example. Along with the team, Padikkal will try to restore his image in the second game. Moreover, if he clicks and can hold the innings for a decent time, the middle order led by Hanuma Vihari can do the rest.

Shubman Gill (India C)- Often compared to Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill has been a consistent performer recently. The next big star of Indian cricket has once again got the responsibility to lead the team. A lot will depend on this young man and he has to deliver both as player and captain. This is one more opportunity for him to send another strong message like previous times.

Likely XIs

India A: Devdutt Padikkal, A R Easwaran, Ishan Kishan (WK), Hanuma Vihari (C), Vishnu Vinod, Amandeep Khare, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Sandeep Warrier, Siddarth Kaul

India C: Shubman Gill (C), Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Axar Patel, Mayank Markande, Jalaj Saxena, Avesh Khan, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ishan Porel

Prediction

A close match is expected with India A registering a key win.