Duleep Trophy 2023 Quarter-finals: Presenting the statistical preview
The 2023 edition of the Duleep Trophy is set to get underway on June 28. The tournament, which features six teams, will witness two quarter-finals, as many semi-finals, and a summit clash. While West Zone and South Zone have already secured one semi-final spot apiece, East Zone, North Zone, Central Zone, and North-East Zone will tussle in the quarter-finals. Here is the statistical preview.
A look at the match-ups
Central Zone and East Zone will meet in Quarter-final 1 at Alur's KSCA Cricket Ground. The winner will advance to the first semi-final to meet defending champions West Zone. The second quarter-final will see North Zone taking on North-East Zone at Bengaluru's M.Chinnaswamy Stadium and the winner will join South Zone in the second semi-final. Both quarter-final games will get underway on June 28.
A look at their previous records
West Zone are the most successful team in Duleep Trophy history with 19 titles. North Zone are the next on the list with 18 titles. South Zone own 12 Duleep Trophy titles. Central Zone clinched the trophy six times in 16 final appearances. While East Zone have returned with two titles, North-East Zone are yet to taste the glory.
Key performers for East Zone
East Zone skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran smoked 798 at 66.50 in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy. His teammate and pacer Ishan Porel played 10 games in the competition and returned with 27 wickets at 25.40. With 867 at 61.92, Anustup Majumdar was the third-highest run-getter of the season. Pacer Mukesh Kumar returned with 22 wickets in five games in the competition at 22.27.
Key performers for Central Zone
Central Zone's Rinku Singh, who enjoyed a dream IPL 2023, averages 59.89 in First-Class cricket. His skipper Shivam Mavi scalped 19 wickets in four 2022-23 Ranji Trophy matches at 16.78. Wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel smoked 429 runs in the season at an exceptional average of 71.50. Pacer Avesh Khan snapped 38 wickets in eight games in the competition at 20.13.
Key performers for North Zone
Prabhsimran Singh hammered 537 runs at 53.70 in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy. His North Zone teammate Sidharth Kaul snapped 22 wickets in seven games last season at 27.86. Dhruv Shorey enjoyed a dream run last season, smoking 859 runs at 95.44. Harshit Rana returned with 21 wickets in five games in the competition at an average of 26.66.
Key performers for North-East Zone
North-East Zone skipper Rongsen Jonathan picked seven wickets in last year's Ranji at 48. He also owns 1,906 FC runs at 34.03. Having played 15 First-Class games, pacer Akash Choudhary has picked 25 wickets at 42.08. Langlonyamba Keishangbam has raced to 664 FC runs at 34.94. Spin-bowling all-rounder Imliwati Lemtur owns 83 FC wickets at 33.36. The tally also includes 645 runs at 15.73.
