Deodhar Trophy 2023 final: Unbeaten South Zone face East Zone
South Zone and East Zone will lock horns in the final of the 2023 Deodhar Trophy on August 3. The Cricket Association Puducherry Siechem Ground will host the match. The Mayank Agarwal-led South Zone are the only unbeaten side of the tournament, having won five successive matches. Meanwhile, East Zone finished behind them with four wins in five games. Here's the preview.
Pitch report, ground facts, and streaming details
As mentioned, the final will be held at the Cricket Association Puducherry Siechem Ground (1:30 PM onward). The ground saw several one-sided affairs during the tournament. South Zone chased down 262 with ease in the last encounter on this ground. Besides, the live streaming of the Deodhar Trophy final will be available on the BCCI's official website (bcci.tv) and the official app.
A look at their journeys
As mentioned, South Zone are the only unbeaten side in the tournament so far. They earned back-to-back wins over North Zone, West Zone, North East Zone, East Zone, and Central Zone. On the other hand, East Zone defeated Central Zone, North East Zone, North Zone, and West Zone. Their only defeat came against South Zone as they lost by five wickets.
A look at the Probable XIs
South Zone (Probable XI): Rohan Kunnummal, Mayank Agarwal (captain), Sai Sudharsan, N Jagadeesan (wicket-keeper), Rohit Rayudu, Mohit Redkar, Washington Sundar, Arjun Tendulkar, Vasuki Koushik, Sijomon Joseph, and Vijaykumar Vyshak. East Zone (Probable XI): Abhimanyu Easwaran, Virat Singh, Saurabh Tiwary (captain), Utkarsh Singh, Riyan Parag, Kumar Kushagra (wicket-keeper), Shahbaz Ahmed, Manisankar Murasingh, Rishav Das, Mukhtar Hussain, and Akash Deep.
Mayank, Riyan are among the runs
South Zone skipper Mayank is their leading run-scorer in the tournament at the moment. He has the third-most runs overall, having slammed 278 runs from five matches at an average of 69.50 (three fifties). Meanwhile, Riyan Parag leads the runs column for East Zone. He averages 86.33 after four matches, having scored 259 runs at an exceptional strike rate of 133.50 (two tons).
Kaverappa, Shahbaz lead the wickets tally
South Zone's right-arm seamer Vidwath Kaverappa has grabbed eyeballs with his match-winning spells. He leads the wickets tally for them, with 11 scalps at an incredible average of 11.63. R Sai Kishore follows him with 10 wickets. Besides, Shahbaz Ahmed is the only bowler from East Zone to have taken 10 or more wickets. Besides scoring runs, Riyan has also taken nine wickets.
