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NKP Salve Challenger Trophy: India Blue beat India Reds

India Blue inched past India Red to open the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy tournament with a one-wicket win with just three balls remaining in Nagpur.

After India Red, captained by Subramaniam Badrinath, had been bowled out for 248, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Blue side scrambled to victory thanks largely to an innings of 87 from Suresh Kumar.

He hit seven fours and a six in his 113-ball innings that took his side to the brink but after a flurry of late wickets that saw them slip from 192 for five to 237 for nine, they still needed their last-wicket pair of Ashok Dinda (eight not out) and Siddarth Trivedi (four not out) to hang in there and see them over the finish line.

Ishant Sharma (4-56) and Ravi Jadeja (2-36) bowled well to keep their side in the match but in the end they didn’t quite have enough runs on the board.

Harshad Khadiwale (55) and Ishank Jaggi (54) both scored half-centuries after India Red won the toss and chose to bat first but they were limited by some tight bowling, Harbhajan Singh and Dinda picking up three wickets apiece and Dhoni getting in on the act with the wicket of Wriddaman Saha.

Harbhajan Singh then scored a run-a-ball 36 having been promoted to number three and although Dhoni fell after making 37, the match appeared to be Blue’s for the taking so long as Suresh remained at the crease. When he was dismissed, caught by Jadeja off of Sharma, the match was in the balance, but Blue still held on to take a vital win.

Tags: bcci, India Blue, India Red, NKP Salve Challenger Trophy