Duleep Trophy final: Prithvi Shaw hammers his 16th FC fifty
West Zone opener Prithvi Shaw scored a valiant half-century in the 2023 Duleep Trophy final against South Zone. The dasher scored 65 off 101 balls in the second innings, his 16th half-century in First-Class cricket. His knock was laced with nine boundaries. Shaw's knock was crucial as the track at Bengaluru's M.Chinnaswamy Stadium provided significant assistance to fast bowlers. Here are further details.
A crucial knock from Shaw
Responding to SZone's first innings total of 213, WZone lost skipper and opener Priyank Panchal (11) early. Shaw then steadied the ship with a 70-run stand with Harvik Desai (21) for the third wicket. While Shaw also got beaten at times, he eventually scored a much-needed fifty. He fell prey to Vijaykumar Vyshak as WZone lost four wickets inside 19 runs.
16th FC fifty
Shaw threw away his starts in the semi-final match against Central Zone as he recorded scores of 26 and 25. However, he displayed a much better show in the summit clash. The 23-year-old has now raced to 3,795 runs in 44 FC games at a 50-plus average (50s: 16, 100s: 12). Notably, his strike rate is over 83 in red-ball cricket.
Last Test appearance in December 2020
Notably, Shaw scored a century against West Indies on his Test debut in October 2018. However, he has only played five Tests so far, scoring 339 runs at 42.37. He has not represented India in whites since December 2020. The rise of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal has pushed him further in the pecking order. Shaw requires consistent performances to get back in contention.
How has the match shaped up?
WZone elected to bowl after winning the toss. The bowlers justified the decision as SZone could only manage 213. While skipper Hanuma Vihari scored a valiant 63, Tilak Varma made 40. Shams Mulani claimed three wickets. In reply, WZone were reduced to 116/5 as pacer Vidhwath Kaverappa took three of the first five wickets.
