Gautam Gambhir-led India Blue have won the Duleep Trophy after having trounced India Red by a massive margin of 355 runs. It has to be said that the best team in the tournament walked away with the trophy in the end.
The tournament was new in many ways as pink ball was used for the first time in Domestic cricket, and also several International players added glamour to the tournament. Apart from the established stars, many young promising players displayed their mantle in the tournament. It was a great display of India's bench strength, which bodes well leading into a crucial home season for the Indian team.
Here in this list, we take a look at 5 talking points from the tournament.
#1 Pink ball: Yes or No
One of the biggest talking points right through the tournament was the use and behaviour of pink balls. While for some, namely Gautam Gambhir, there was no major difference between the pink and red ball, for several others there were issues with the visibility and the conditions of the ball.
However, the players were also very receptive to the change and were quite understanding of the measures taken to expand cricket. They were quite vocal about the efforts but did not hesitate to voice their opinions in different aspects regarding the ball.
Now, when the tournament is over, it has to be said that the pitches had to be doctored to keep the ball in shape and despite this there were reservations about the ball during twilight conditions, and thus for the pink ball to make an International debut in India, many different factors will have to be factored in.
#2 Form of International players
The Duleep trophy was a big stage for many International players who are currently out of favour with the National selectors to stake a claim once again. This added another context to the tournament.
While players like Gautam Gambhir, Abhinav Mukund Suresh Raina performed decently, many others like Yuvraj Singh has a forgettable tournament.
This will also help the selectors determine who can be roped if they are looking to introduce experience into the squad.
#3 Match practice before the International games
During the later half of the tournament, many International players were drafted into the squad. This was primarily aimed at giving them genuine match practice in home conditions before the season commences.
It goes without saying that there is no substitute for playing in the centre against quality opposition and that no amount of time spent in the nets can match the experience gained while playing in a competitive match.
For Indian players, this experience will hold them in great stead ahead of the series against New Zealand.
#4 Emergence of Kuldeep Yadav and Nathu Singh
One of the biggest positives to emerge out of this edition of Duleep Trophy was the performance of young chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav. The 21-year old was on top of his game in all the three matches and foxed almost all the batsmen with his variation. However, what was heartening to see was his great control and his unflappable temperament, more so when wickets were not quite coming his way. He kept at the batsmen, kept asking them questions and eventually reaped rewards.
Although, he was not picked in the 15-man squad to take on New Zealand, the young man would have definitely made the selectors sit up and take notice of his ability.
Another young bowler who displayed immense talent and ability was Nathu Singh, the right-arm quick from Rajasthan. Nathu, who had made quite a name for him before this tournament justified his tag and troubled opposition batsmen with his unnerving accuracy and seam movement. He was very effective under lights where he got the ball to hoop around and was almost unplayable at times.
#5 Indian squad selection
The Indian selection committee was present at Noida right for the final match, as they wanted to look at players from close quarters before they picked up their squad against New Zealand. Although, the final squad did not have any new inclusions they would have noted down the performance of Gautam Gambhir, Sheldon Jackson, Mayank Agarwal and Kuldeep Yadav.
India is scheduled to play 13 Test matches in this long home season, and hence these players should look to build on from these performances.
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