Stumps: IND BLUE: 362/3 in 90 Overs | Live Cricket Score, Duleep Trophy Final, India Red vs India Blue, Day 1: Cheteshwar Pujara gets to his hundred

Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s live cricket blog and live cricket updates post of the Duleep Trophy 2016-17 final. Here you will get all the live cricket updates of the match between India Red and India Blue. India Red enter into the final with one win against India Green by their side whereas India Blue managed to outclass Suresh Raina led India Green in the virtual knockout game. Yuvraj Singh will be leading India Red whereas Gautam Gambhir will be captaining India Blue in the final of Duleep Trophy 2016-17, the first ever ‘pink ball cricket’ Duleep Trophy tournament in India. ALSO READ: India Red vs India Blue, Live Streaming, Duleep Trophy 2016 Final, Day 1: Watch online match telecast & Live TV Coverage

Expectations will be high from the Duleep Trophy Final as big names from India cricket will be going up against each other. It will be interesting to watch how things pan out for players trying to earn a berth in the Indian side for upcoming three-Test series against New Zealand. Selectors will have their eyes on the players as they will be recruiting talent for New Zealand’s tour of India starting September 22. This First-Class match will be a five-day affair unlike the previous matches being held in this year’s Duleep Trophy at Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, Greater Noida.

Rain is not expected to play spoilsport on Day One of the final. So far rain has been the reason for the lack of play at Greater Noida which has hampered with the proceedings and play being called off, like it happened in few matches. Fans have been upset as they have not been able to witness much cricket in the previous games. A clear blue sky can be seen over Greater Noida stadium and we should expect a full day’s play in the day/night game with pink ball.  

Big names in action today: 

Gautam Gambhir led India Blue will feature the likes of  Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohit Sharma. Their middle order looks strong and we might see some street-smart bowling from Jadeja playing for the first time with ‘pink ball’. Whereas India Red team will feature Yuvraj Singh as captain and opener Shikhar Dhawan who will be desperate to perform and show the world that he can tackle the pink ball.

Fight for a berth:

India are to play New Zealand in Test series starting September 22. The squad for the Test side is yet to be announced, which ensures that the players will be desperate to show their mettle in the final to be in good books of the selectors. Gautam Gambhir has played exceptionally well scoring a century in the previous game and taking the score to 707. Gambhir has been out of the side for quite some time now and will be aiming for a comeback in the Test side after two years.

Shikhar Dhawan has to perform in this match so as to declare himself in the contention of the spot. He has not been consistent lately and their is competition among players for a place in Indian top order, Gambhir will be his direct competitor in this match. Murali Vijay too is in contention for top order batsmen place in the Indian side

Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma will be fighting a battle in the same team trying to score more and declare impress the selectors for a berth in Indian middle order. Pujara scored a century in the previous game and will be aiming for another to put his claim forward ahead of Rohit’s. They need not ignore Manish Pandey who has been performing against India A in the ongoing First-Class match played with pink ball against Australia A. Also, Yuvraj will be eager to perform in this match as he failed to make a mark in the series opener. Stuart Binny will also play in the final and try to contribute with both bat and ball.

As far as spinners are concerned Ravindra Jadeja will get tough competition from leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav who is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 13 wickets under his belt. Jadeja likely to be selected in Indian side will play with pink ball for the very first time. Yadav’s wrong one has been able to trouble the batsmen so far. He will get tough competition from Amit Mishra who will be playing for India Red. Mishra recently looked in good form in second T20I against West Indies in USA taking 3 wickets.

Absence of Virat Kohli:

Virat Kohli will not be playing in the final of Duleep Trophy 2016-17. It will take the spotlight away from the final to an extent. The hype about the final would have been on different level had Kohli played. Kohli is on a much-needed break ahead of the long season he has to play, leading the side against New Zealand in home series.

Will we see a flurry of wickets like series opener?

Day One of the first game of Duleep Trophy 2016-17 saw 17 wickets falling. After first game’s batting disaster, players have found it rather easy to play and score runs. Last match’s record 707 score in the first innings will suffice that batsmen are not finding it that hard to tackle pink ball. However, Cheteshwar Pujara mentioned that it is tough to pick googly under lights. Kuldeep Yadav might use this to the effect and pose problems for the batsmen adding to his tally of wickets in the tournament.

Squads:

India Blue: Mayank Agarwal, Gautam Gambhir (c), Baba Aparajith, Suryakumar Yadav, Karn Sharma, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sheldon Jackson, Parvez Rasool, Mohit Sharma, Pankaj Singh, Krishna Das, Abhimanyu Mithun, Siddhesh Lad, Karaparambil Monish, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja

India Red: Srikar Bharat(wk), Abhinav Mukund, Sudip Chatterjee, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Yuvraj Singh(c), Nitish Rana, Akshay Wakhare, Kuldeep Yadav, Pradeep Sangwan, Ishwar Pandey, Nathu Singh, Ankush Bains, Anureet Singh, Abhimanyu Mithun, Shikhar Dhawan, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra