Duleep Trophy 2018 | India Blue just five wickets away from title

The final of this year’s Duleep Trophy has turned out to be a one-sided affair as one team has emerged to be the clear favorites right from the word go. Faiz Fazal’s India Blue were first to bat at the NPR college ground in Dindigul and set a mammoth total of 541 in the first innings, thanks to lower-order batsman Nikhil Gangta and Anmolpreet Singh, who were top-scorers with scores of 130 and 96 respectively.

However, it was a totally different story for the India Red side, who now find themselves on the brink of defeat after impressing throughout much of the tournament. The Reds were bowled out for a paltry total of 182 in the first innings courtesy of some stunning bowling from the Blue team, especially Swapnil Singh who bagged a fifer in the final.

Fazal’s team is now looking at a comfortable win having reduced Mukund & Co. to 128/5 at the end of the Day Three in Dindigul. Some top-notch bowling once again has benefited the Blues as Saurabh Kumar picked up three wickets. However,  Mumbai Indians batsman - Ishan Kishan and Bengal’s Writtick Chatterjee is currently occupying the crease for the Reds and would hope to put salvage something in the lower end to end the match on an encourAging note.