2017 Deodhar Trophy, day 2 - round-up: Manish Pandey's century guides India B home

All-round heroics from Axar Patel and century from Manish Pandey helped India B make it two wins out of two as they beat the Vijay Hazare Trophy champions Tamil Nadu in the second match of the 2017 Deodhar Trophy by 32 runs.

It was a mixed day for Indian internationals playing in the fixture. While Pandey scored a match-winning century, Shikhar Dhawan continued his good form in the tournament by scoring a fifty and Axar Patel picked up three wickets to go along with his 51, Indian wicketkeepers Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel didn't get going with the bat.

Neither Pandey nor Dhawan featured in the last ODI series for India but have certainly put their names in the reckoning for the ICC Champions Trophy squad. Dhawan, who scored a century in the first match, added another List-A fifty to his kitty while Pandey, who was playing in his first match of the tournament after a disappointing Vijay Hazare scored a crucial century to help his side post 316/8.

In response, Tamil Nadu looked in command and at one stage, with the experienced duo of Dinesh Karthik and Vijay Shankar at the crease, even looked as though they are favorites to win the game, but the fall of captain Shankar’s wicket instigated a collapsed that saw them being bowled out for 284.

After winning the toss, India B didn’t get off to a great start as Parthiv Patel was dismissed for just 11. But that brought Pandey to the crease and he added 86 for the second-wicket along with Dhawan. Soon after getting to his fifty, the Indian opener was castled by R Sai Kishore.

That wicket instigated a mini collapse for India B, who lost three wickets for just 38 runs and looked in trouble. That was when two Indian internationals, Pandey and Axar Patel got together and put on 98 for the fifth-wicket to put their side in a position of command.

Much like Dhawan, Patel got out soon after getting to his fifty and Pandey soon followed him back to the pavilion but not before he had scored a century. Lower-order cameos from Gurkeerat Mann and AR Karnewar helped India B post 316/8 in their 50 overs.

For the Vijay Hazare Trophy champions, R Sai Kishore was the pick of the bowlers as he finished with figures of 4/60, including the crucial of all three set batsmen, Pandey, Dhawan and Patel.

In response, Tamil Nadu lost opener Ganga Sridhar Raju early, but Kaushik Gandhi and N Jadadeesan put on a century partnership for the second wicket to get the innings back on track. Jagadeesan was on 64 when Axar Patel bowled him.

But that was far from the end for Tamil Nadu as Gandhi scored a century and had the experience of Dinesh Karthik with him going into the last 20 overs. But Karthik was dismissed for 28 by Patel. That brought captain Shankar to the crease. He was dismissed in the 42^nd over with the score at 244/4 after scoring a run-a-ball 27 and from then onwards it was all downhill for Tamil Nadu.

Centurion Kaushik Gandhi tried his best but Vijay Shankar’s wicket was the start of a collapse that saw the reigning Vijay Hazare Trophy champions go from 244/3 to 284 all out. And just like that seven wickets were taken by India B in seven overs for just 40 runs as they made it two wins in a row.

Axar Patel and Dhawal Kulkarni both picked up three wickets but it was Axar's all-round efforts that won Parthiv Patel’s side the game.

Brief scores: India B 316/8 in 50 overs (Manish Pandey 104. Shikhar Dhawan 50, Axar Patel 51, R Sai Kishore 4/60) beat Tamil Nadu 284 in 48.4 overs (Kaushik Gandhi 124, N Jagadeesan 64, Axar Patel 3/53, Dhawal Kulkarni 3/45) by 32 runs.