India B ended the day at 202 for 7, thanks to Musheer Khan’s unbeaten 105, with support from Navdeep Saini, who stayed with him on 29 not out. Yashasvi Jaiswal contributed 30 earlier in the innings. For India A, Akash Deep, Khaleel Ahmed, and Avesh Khan all took two wickets each.
Musheer Khan, like his older brother Sarfaraz, has a similar batting style, especially in his stance and shots. However, their approach to batting is different. While Sarfaraz is more aggressive, Musheer is calm and patient. On the first day of the Duleep Trophy match between India A and India B in Bengaluru, Musheer showed his skill and determination.
Sarfaraz usually plays with more flair, like when he played a risky shot over the slips early in his innings, just after India B lost two quick wickets. Musheer, on the other hand, prefers a more patient approach. He had already impressed earlier this year by finishing second in the run charts at the Under-19 World Cup and making important contributions in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy win.
India B was in trouble at 94 for 7 after Khaleel, Akash, and Avesh put them under pressure with their fast bowling. But Musheer stayed calm, batting for over five hours to score an unbeaten century, helping India B recover by the end of the day.
Musheer came in at No. 3 and watched as key players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz, and Rishabh Pant fell quickly after lunch. The fast bowlers made batting difficult, but many wickets fell because the batters made mistakes under pressure.
Abhimanyu Easwaran chased a wide ball and got out. Jaiswal was caught trying to play between a drive and a cut, and Sarfaraz was trapped leg before wicket (lbw) while playing around his front pad. Pant was caught by a great running catch from Shubman Gill at mid-off after a ball bounced more than expected. Nitish Reddy was bowled by a perfect delivery from Akash Deep that straightened and hit the top of off stump. The rest of the batters got themselves out with risky shots.
While all this happened, Musheer remained calm at the other end. The fast bowlers kept testing him, and he almost got out early, with Akash Deep nearly getting him caught in the slips. In his first half hour, Musheer struggled to handle the movement off the pitch. To cope, he tried walking down the pitch to meet the ball, but found it tough with Khaleel and Akash swinging the ball both ways. Even Shivam Dube’s slower deliveries came in faster than Musheer expected, and he was hit on the pads a few times. One close lbw call went in his favor.
At lunch, Musheer Khan had only scored 6 runs from 52 balls and looked unsure of how he would score more. While other batters fell trying to play aggressive shots, Musheer focused on surviving, even when he struggled to find his rhythm.
Akash Deep bowled with high energy, creating problems for the batters with his unpredictable deliveries. He bowled an excellent ball to get Nitish Reddy out and could have taken more wickets early on but finished his first spell with figures of 8-3-7-0. Avesh Khan, coming in as the first change, added more pressure with his sharp deliveries that moved off the pitch, keeping the batters under control for most of the first two sessions.
Musheer only started looking comfortable when the spinners came on. He welcomed his Mumbai teammate, Tanush Kotian, with a soft paddle shot. But he had to stay cautious, especially after a loose drive against Kuldeep Yadav almost led to his downfall. After that, Musheer refocused and played his shots with more confidence. He brought out powerful sweeps and stepped out to hit Kotian, as he neared his century.
In the final session, after Musheer and Navdeep Saini had batted together for more than 20 overs, Avesh tried to bowl short balls with two fielders on the leg side. However, the same bowlers who had dominated earlier now struggled, and Musheer easily handled their short-ball tactics. His ability to turn the game around showed the success of his efforts.
When Musheer finally reached his third first-class century, he took off his helmet, looked up to the sky, and waved his bat towards the dressing room, releasing all his emotions. His brother Sarfaraz was one of the first to applaud, a touching moment as Musheer had spent the past four seasons cheering for Sarfaraz. Now it was his brother’s turn to return the favor.
At only 19 years old, Musheer has bigger challenges ahead, but whether playing for Mumbai or making his debut in the Duleep Trophy, he has shown that he can handle the pressure and perform when it matters most.
