Deodhar Trophy 2023: Presenting the statistical preview
Deodhar Trophy 2023 is set to get underway on July 24 with six zonal teams fighting for the glory. The List-A tournament is being held for the first time since 2019 as all the matches will be played in Puducherry. East Zone, West Zone, North Zone, South Zone, Central Zone, and North East Zone are the participating sides. Here is the statistical preview.
North Zone are the most successful team
With 13 titles, North Zone are the most successful team in the history of the Deodhar Trophy. West Zone are next in the list with 12 trophies. South Zone own eight titles. East Zone were the last zonal winner of the tournament in 2014-15. Overall, they have tasted glory five times. While CZone have five titles, NEZone will fight for their maiden trophy.
Key performers for South Zone
SZone skipper Mayank Agarwal has a List-A average of 45.70. His strike rate reads 99.42. All-rounder Washington Sundar has returned with 16 wickets and 233 runs in 16 ODIs. Devdutt Padikkal averages a sensational 77.27 in List-A matches. With 18 wickets in nine games, Vasuki Koushik was the second-highest wicket-taker in the last year's Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Key performers for North Zone
NZone captain Nitish Rana has a List-A average of 39.11. Mandeep Singh scored 287 runs at an average of 143.50 in the last season's Vijay Hazare Trophy. Mayank Markande returned with seven wickets in five games in the VHT last season. Himanshu Rana hammered 233 runs in the tournament at an excellent strike rate of 120.31.
Key performers for East Zone, NEZone
Abhimanyu Easwaran averages 46.24 in List-A cricket, having hammered 3,376 runs. Team skipper Saurabh Tiwary scored 367 runs in the last year's VHT at 91.75. Shahbaz Ahmed scalped 11 wickets in just six games in the last season's VHT. NEZone captain Rongsen Jonathan scalped seven wickets in the 2022-23 VHT. All-rounder Imliwati Lemtur owns 36 wickets and 224 runs from 30 List-A games.
Key performers for West Zone, Central Zone
WZone's Rahul Tripathi was sensational in last year's VHT, slamming 524 runs at 87.33. Priyank Panchal hammered 354 runs in the tournament at 50.57. Arzan Nagwaswalla took 12 wickets in the competition (ER: 5.14). CZone skipper Venkatesh Iyer averages 48.15 in the 50-over format. Shivam Mavi scalped 14 wickets in last year's VHT. Rinku Singh averages 53 in List-A cricket.
Here are the key milestones on offer
Saurabh Tiwary (3,712) can get to 4,000 runs in List-A cricket. NZone pacer Sandeep Sharma is just two shy of completing 100 List-A wickets. Washington Sundar requires 162 runs to complete 1,000 runs in the 50-over format. Shivam Dube is three hits away from completing 50 sixes in List-A cricket. Rahul Tripathi (1,782) can get to 2,000 runs in List-A cricket.
