IMAGE: East Zone captain Ishan Kishan with his deputy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Photograph: TNCA/Instagram
Key Points
- South Zone were bowled out for 336 in the first innings.
- East Zone grabbed a massive 372-run first innings lead which could prove decisive.
- With the match likely to finish in a draw, East Zone are all set to emerge the winners courtesy of the first innings lead.
East Zone bowled out South Zone for 336 to take a decisive 372-run first innings lead which all but assures them of the Duleep Trophy title at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.
East Zone opted not to enforce the follow-on, as they decided to bat in their second innings.
Captain Tilak Varma missed out on a century as he was caught and bowled by off-spinner Kounain Quraishi for 99. He was the last wicket to fall for South Zone who were bundled out in 107.3 overs.
For East Zone, Mukesh Kumar starred with the ball taking 3/62, while Mohammed Shami (2/42), Quraishi (2/99) and Shikhar Mohan (2/67) bagged two wickets each.
With the match likely to finish in a draw, East Zone are all set to emerge the Duleep Trophy champions on the basis of the first innings lead.
East Zone continued to chip away at the wickets on Day 4 to continue their march towards the first innings lead.
Chama Milind stroked 43 before he was caught at short leg off spinner Shikhar Mohan. Tripurana Vijay was run out for 1 after a huge misunderstanding with captain Varma.
Mohammed Siraj was trapped leg before wicket by Mukesh before Quraishi wrapped up the innings with the final wicket of Varma.
Shami, Mukesh Strike On Day 3
Pacers Mohammad Shami and Mukesh Kumar struck crucial blows on the third day to leave South Zone reeling on 242 for six at close.
Senior pacer Shami struck with two crucial blows towards the start and before the close of the post-lunch session.
He struck immediately after the lunch break, getting the wicket of Shaik Rasheed, who was given out leg before wicket for 27 before he dismissed Smaran Ravichandran caught behind on the review for 23.
Interestingly, stand-in captain Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took the DRS after Ishan Kishan went off the field temporarily.
He had earlier urged Kishan to go for the review which had helped East Zone successfully overturn the on-field umpire’s decision with Mukesh getting Bhui caught behind in the sixth over.
Mukesh bagged he all-important wicket of the in-form Devdutt Padikkal, who flicked it straight to the fielder at deep square leg to walk back after scoring 62.
This was Mukesh’s second wicket after he had struck with the wicket of Ricky Bhui (1) early in the morning session.
Tilak, who brought his third successive 50-plus score in this competition in 143 balls, and Shreyas, the last recognised South batting pair, survived 26.4 overs in the last couple of hours of the day, adding 66 runs.
Leave a Reply