Duleep Trophy final: East Zone inch closer to title
Ishan Kishan and South Zone skipper Tilak Varma underlined their red-ball chops with 80 and 99 respectively, but former’s half-century has more contextual value as it placed East Zone firmly on course for a Duleep Trophy triumph on the fourth day of the final here on Wednesday.
Tilak’s 211-ball knock lifted South to 336 all out in their first innings but still remained 372 runs adrift of East’s first dig total of 708.
In their second innings, East moved to 212 for five at close, for an overall lead of 584 runs. Kumar Kushagra (34) and Kounain Quraishi (26) were batting at close and have raised 52 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket.
But those team numbers now carry a mere academic significance as East already have their hands around this season’s Duleep Trophy, courtesy that irreversibly massive first-innings lead. However, with a couple of important Test assignments coming up - away against New Zealand and subsequently at home against Australia - the selectors now have two solid options to mull over in front of them. Kishan, who made an expansive 270 in the first innings here, was comfortable from ball one in the ensuing essay as well during his 98-ball knock.
The left-hander started his run-making with a six off off-spinner Tripurana Vijay over mid-wicket and never really took his feet off the pedal. Kishan went after Vijay again towards the backend of his innings, hammering him for 4, 6, 6, 4 in successive balls in the 26th over.
Moments before that DRS saved Kishan, who added 146 runs for the third wicket with Shikhar Mohan, from a leg-before decision after on-field umpire Rohan Pandit upheld leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal’s appeal.
East took tea at 95 for two, having swelled the lead by 467 runs.
But the 20-minute break seemed to have affected Kishan’s rhythm as he soon got out, lofting pacer MD Nidheesh to Devdutt Padikkal inside the leg-side circle.
The motley Chepauk crowd hence could not see another Kishan hundred and they also had to endure the disappointment of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s early dismissal.
After DRS saved him from Vijay’s leg before appeal on 6, Sooryavanshi could not build something bigger, getting stumped off the same bowler by Narayan Jagadeesan.
Much before that, the audience also could not see a three-figure knock from Tilak, who resumed from overnight 56.
His innings helped South, overnight 242 for six, to go past the 300-run mark, but the left-hander will rue missing a second consecutive ton after making one in the semifinal last week at Bengaluru.
The Hyderabad batter did not let go his defence-first approach even when wickets began to tumble at the other end. Eventually, his first attempt to hit out resulted in a return catch to off-spinner Quraishi.
But later in the day, another Hyderabad player had his best outing in recent times.
Mohammed Siraj had looked a distant shadow of his intense self since the tour to Sri Lanka, often bowling with a shorter run-up and reduced speed. He struggled to summon the steely self in humid conditions when the 36-year-old East Zone quick Mohammed Shami made the new and old ball talk even while bowling well within himself.
But in East Zone’s second innings here, Siraj looked to have regained some of his familiar sharpness. The increased nip, accuracy and corrected length meant that Siraj remained a threat to batters’ edge.
He was eventually rewarded when East Zone opener Abhimanyu Easwaran tamely guided a delivery to Padikkal at slip.
However, those were tiny glittering nuggets without making any significant alteration to the match’s course.
