A steady 76 by Hanuma Vihari and tight bowling by spinners, led by K Gowtham, helped India B beat India C by 30 runs and enter the final of the Deodhar Trophy at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium here on Wednesday.

After being restricted to 231/9, India B spinners made full use of the slow track and bowled out the Ajinkya Rahane-led India A for 201 in 48.2 overs. This was India B’s second consecutive win after their 43-run victory over India A as they now face the winner of India A and India C match, scheduled for Thursday, in the tournament’s summit clash on Saturday.

Disciplined Nadeem

Left-arm spinner Nadeem, who has been knocking on the selectors’ door with his strong show in domestic circuit, kept things tight for India C openers Rahane and R Samarth (5) from the word go.

After Samarth fell to fast bowler Deepak Chahar, off-spinner Gowtham cashed in on the pressure built by Nadeem and accounted for India C’s two-most experienced batsmen, Rahane and Suresh Raina — who was playing his 300th List A match. Rahane ate up 61 balls for his 32 while Raina’s stumps were rattled in the anxiety to accelerate.

A 48-run partnership between Suryakumar Kumar (39) and Vijay Shankar (35) did raise some hopes but the part-time spin of Manoj Tiwary and Iyer all but ended India C’s chances of staging the rescue act. Tiwary and Gowtham were the pick of India B’s bowlers with three wickets apiece.

Vihari shines again

For India B batsmen, once again it was the case of missed starts and soft dismissals. Mayank Agarwal, who looked good for a big score, fell for 24. Opener Prashant Chopra (17), Iyer (10) and Rohit Rayudu (1) too couldn’t make an impact.

Twice in as two days, it was down to Vihari, who steadied the ship in a useful stand with Ankush Bains. Reduced to 90/5, the duo put on 60 runs before Bains was undone by a Raina delivery that kept low. Vihari, who had scored an unbeaten 87 on Tuesday, managed 76 off 94 balls, including six boundaries before falling to fast bowler Rajneesh Gurbani.

Brief Scores:

India B 231/9 in 50 overs (Vihari 76, Gurbani 3/38, Roy 3/45) beat India C 201 in 48.2 overs (Gowtham 3/40, Tiwary 3/44) by 30 runs.

First Published: Oct 24, 2018 19:19 IST