India’s domestic cricket season got underway with the prestigious Duleep Trophy, with six teams competing in the tournament. It is now down to two, as West Zone and South Zone will be playing the final at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from July 12.
Priyank Panchal-led West Zone faced Shivam Mavi’s Central Zone in the first semifinal in Alur. In bowler-friendly conditions, run-scoring became a difficult proposition as West Zone reached 220 in the first innings, with Mavi taking six wickets. However, the formidable West Zone side came back strongly to dismiss their opponents for 128.
Cheteshwar Pujara missed out in the first innings but showed his class in the second as he registered his 60th first-class century (133 off 278) while Suryakumar Yadav also scored a brisk half-century (52 off 58) as West Zone set a daunting target of 390.
Mavi’s men managed to reach 128 runs for the loss of four wickets in their second innings as the match was drawn, however, West Zone won by virtue of their first-innings lead. Atit Sheth was named Player of the Match for his crucial 74 in the first innings and four-wicket haul in the encounter.
In the second semifinal, North Zone and South Zone played a thriller. In the first innings, Jayant Yadav’s North Zone scored 198 runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium before restricting South Zone to 195. Prabhsimran Singh scored a brilliant 63 off 93 in the second innings and helped his team set a tricky target of 215.
South Zone had to work hard for their runs and eventually won the match by two wickets. Senior players Mayank Agarwal (54 off 57) and Hanuma Vihari (43 off 42) played counterattacking knocks to take their team to the brink before the lower order got them over the line. South Zone’s Vidhwath Kaverappa took a five-fer in the first innings, while his new-ball partner Vijaykumar Vyshak took a five-fer in the second.