File image of Musheer Khan and Rohit Sharma.© X (Twitter)
Undoubtedly the highlight of the first round of Duleep Trophy 2024 games has been the incredible 181 scored by Sarfaraz Khan's brother Musheer Khan for India B. With his side at 94/7, 19-year-old Musheer put up an incredible 205 run partnership with tailender Navdeep Saini, ultimately guiding India B to a healthy total of 321. Musheer dominated bowlers who have India experience, as the likes of Khaleel Ahmed, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan and Kuldeep Yadav were toyed around with. Kuldeep, in particular, bore the brunt of Musheer's might, who hit him for a six that hit the roof.
Having completed his 150 and looking to accelerate, Musheer Khan decided that chinaman Kuldeep Yadav would be the target. Batting on 175, Musheer slammed Kuldeep for a towering six that hit the roof of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Being one of the smaller grounds in India in terms of dimensions, with a square boundary of under 70m, hitting the Chinnaswamy roof is something that many cricket stars have done over the years. The likes of Rohit Sharma, David Warner and Abdul Samad have all hit the Chinnaswamy roof in the IPL.
Kuldeep was able to smile two balls after the six, as Musheer got out to him after trying to hit yet another maximum. It was Kuldeep's only wicket of the innings, after enduring a tough game. Four bowlers bowled more than 20 overs, among which Kuldeep had the worst economy rate by far (3.90).
Musheer hit five sixes in total during his marathon knock. While elder brother Sarfaraz made his India Test debut earlier this year, Musheer must have made his way into the minds of the selectors after his knock. With age on his side, Musheer could be a genuine contender.
The Duleep Trophy first round goes on from September 5 to 8. Many senior India cricketers are in action, ahead of India's two-match Test series against Bangladesh from September 19.