South Zone beat West Zone, lift 2023 Duleep Trophy: Stats
South Zone have lifted the 2023 Duleep Trophy title by beating West Zone by 75 runs in the final. The summit clash was a low-scoring thriller as momentum enjoyed a roller-coaster ride. WZone put up a valiant fight while chasing 298 but they eventually fell well short. Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore and Vasuki Koushik claimed four-wicket hauls in the final innings. Here are further details.
How did the game pan out?
WZone won the toss and elected to bowl in Bengaluru. SZone could only manage 213, courtesy of knocks from Hanuma Vihari (63) and Tilak Varma (40). In reply, WZone were bundled out for 146 as Vidwath Kaverappa claimed a seven-fer. In the second innings, SZone scored 230, setting a target of 298. Priyank Panchal's 95 went in vain as WZone were folded for 222.
46th FC Fifty for Hanuma Vihari
SZone skipper Hanuma Vihari was among the runs in both innings as he recorded scores worth 63 and 42. This was Vihari's 46th half-century in First-Class cricket as he has raced past 8,740 runs in 115 First-Class games at a 53-plus average. The tally includes 23 hundreds as well. 839 of these runs have come in 16 Tests for India at 33.56.
Fiery 65 for Prithvi Shaw
WZone opener Prithvi Shaw scored a valiant half-century in the second innings, 65 off 101 balls. This was his 16th fifty in FC cricket as the tally also includes 12 tons. The 23-year-old has now raced past 3,800 runs in 44 FC games at a 50-plus average. Shaw could not do much in his second outing and perished for just seven.
Career-best seven-fer for Vidhwath Kaverappa
Vidhwath Kaverappa ran through West Zone's batting line-up with a seven-wicket haul in the second innings. He claimed career-best figures worth 7/53 and backed it up with one more wicket in his second outing. The 24-year-old Kaverappa has now raced to 49 wickets in 12 FC games. Notably, the pacer claimed a fifer in the semi-final clash against North Zone as well.
18th FC fifer for Dharmendrasinh Jadeja
Dharmendrasinh Jadeja took a remarkable five-wicket haul in the third innings. The left-arm spinner brilliantly exploited the spin-friendly conditions and claimed 5/40, his 18th fifer in FC cricket. Jadeja, who claimed two wickets in SZone's first innings as well, has now raced to 307 wickets in 76 FC appearances with his average being just over 28. He represents Saurashtra in domestic cricket.
8,000 FC runs for Panchal
After managing just 11 in the first innings, Panchal played a captain's knock in the run chase and scored 95 off 211 balls. This was his 32nd half-century in First-Class cricket. During the course, he also completed 8,000 runs in FC cricket. Having played 113 games, the 33-year-old averages over 46 in the format. Panchal has also hammered 26 FC tons.
Four-fers for Sai Kishore, Koushik
Pacer Vasuki Koushik and left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore starred for SZone in the final innings. The former was brilliant with the new ball as he claimed 4/36 in 25 overs. He has raced to 42 wickets in nine First-Class games at 15.16. Meanwhile, Kishore recorded figures worth 4/57 in 20.2 overs. He now owns 113 wickets in 30 matches at 26.58.
Redemption for SZone
South Zone have truly earned redemption, having lost the last year's final to none other than WZone. SZone now have 14 Duleep Trophy titles. West Zone are still the most successful team in Duleep Trophy history with 19 titles.
