South Zone lift 2023 Duleep Trophy title: Key takeaways
South Zone have won the 2023 Duleep Trophy title with a 75-run triumph against West Zone in the final. The side has truly earned redemption, having lost the last year's final to the same opposition. SZone now have 14 Duleep Trophy titles. The likes of Hanuma Vihari and Vidwath Kaverappa starred for SZone in the final. Here are the key takeaways from the tournament.
How did the final 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.
East Zone, North East Zone knocked out in quarters
East Zone and North East Zone could not advance to the semi-finals, having lost their respective quarter-final clashes. Central Zone thrashed EZone in the first quarter-final by 170 runs as Saurabh Kumar took 11 wickets in the game. NEZone were outclassed by North Zone as they suffered a massive 511-run defeat. Dhruv Shorey (135), Nishant Sindhu (150), and Harshit Rana (122*) starred for NZone.
The rain-curtailed semi-final clashes
As WZone and SZone appeared in the last year's final, they earned an automatic ticket to the semi-finals of this edition. Notably, both semi-final matches were affected by rain. While SZone beat North Zone by two wickets in a thriller, the game between WZone and Central Zone was drawn. Priyank Panchal's men, however, qualified on the virtue of having a 92-run first-innings lead.
How did the prominent names perform? (1/2)
Cheteshwar Pujara scored a brilliant century for WZone in the semi-final. He overall finished with 185 runs across four innings. His teammate Suryakumar Yadav also played a 52-run knock in the semis. However, he could not touch the 10-run mark in his other three outings. Sarfaraz Khan managed 54 runs out of which 48 came in his last innings.
How did the prominent names perform? (2/2)
Prithvi Shaw managed 123 runs across four innings with the help of a solitary fifty. Rinku Singh threw away his starts as his scores read 48, 40, 38, and 6. Mayank Agarwal finished as the third-highest run-getter with 193 runs. Tilak Varma managed 114 runs. Avesh Khan scalped five wickets in two games at 27.40. Shivam Mavi returned with nine wickets at 17.66.
Saurabh Kumar topped the wicket-taking chart
Meanwhile, CZone's left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar finished as the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 16 wickets at 16.12. South Zone's young fast bowler Kaverappa trails him with 15 wickets at an excellent average of 11.93. WZone's left-arm fast bowler Arzan Nagwaswalla is the only other bowler with 10 or more wickets in the competition. He took 10 wickets at 22.50.
North Zone duo tops the run-scoring charts
Though North Zone could not qualify for the final game, their wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh finished as the highest run-getter of the tournament, hammering 202 runs at a strike rate of 79.52. His teammate Nishant Sindhu is second on the list with 195 runs at 48.75.
