Duleep Trophy final, West Zone demolish South Zone: Key stats
Ajinkya Rahane-led West Zone trounced South Zone by 294 runs to win the Duleep Trophy 2022 final on Sunday. Yashasvi Jaiswal bagged the Player of the Match award for clocking a sensational double-ton (265). Meanwhile, left-armer Jaydev Unadkat snared the Player of the Series title. Chasing 529, South Zone (154/6) couldn't hold long enough on Day 5 to eventually lose the duel. Here's more.
How did the match pan out?
Opting to bat, West Zone compiled 270, with a valiant inning from wicket-keeper Het Patel (98). In response, South Zone hoarded 327, thanks to a clutch hundred from Baba Indrajith. West Zone then clobbered 585/4d, riding on fine exhibitions from Yashasvi and Sarfaraz Khan (127*). Rohan Kunnummul (93) and later T Ravi Teja (53) put up a fight but it wasn't enough.
Yashasvi floors South Zone
Yashasvi, who was dismissed for a solitary early on, showed no mercy as he raced to a 323-ball 265, belting 30 fours and four sixes. The 20-year-old notched his career-best score in FC cricket, with the double century coming up in 235 deliveries. It was his fifth ton in FC level. He had clocked a double hundred in the quarter-finals against North East Zone.
Incredible feats registerd by Yashasvi
Yashasvi, on Friday, became the youngest player to score a double-ton in the final of a First-Class tournament (20 years, 269 days). Earlier, he became the fourth-youngest centurion in the Duleep Trophy final after Prithvi Shaw (2017/18), Ravi Shastri (1981/82), and Rahane (2008/09).
Yashasvi averaged 99.40 in Duleep Trophy 2022
Yashasvi wound up as the leading run-getter in Duleep Trophy 2022 by a distance. He racked up 497 runs from five innings at an astronomical average of 99.40. Most notably, he has bossed the show while striking at 74.17. Yashavi has now racked up 1,015 runs in FC cricket (100s: 5, 50s: 1). Shaw (315) and Rahane (250) had impressive returns as well.
Sarfaraz, Het obliterate the South Zone bowlers
Sarfaraz, who hammered a ton in the Ranji Trophy final, put his clutch gene to notice once again. The Run Machine fetched scores of 34 and 127*, hitting 11 fours and two sixes during the unbeaten innings. Het serves a big round of applause as well. The middle-order batter whipped 98 and 51* to put South Zone under the pump.
Kunnummal bashes West Zone left, right, and center
Kunnummal lately became the first Kerela cricketer to smash a century in the Duleep Trophy. Kunnummal, who scored 31 early on, was a class act on Day 4. With a 529-run target overhead and wickets falling frequently, the opener belted a 100-ball 93 (6s: 1, 4s: 14). He missed out on his 5th FC ton, but the knock deserves every bit of appreciation.
Indrajith's ton lights up Coimbatore
Tamil Nadu ace Indrajith clobbered a 125-ball 118, striking at 94.40. He whacked 14 fours before Unadkat drew curtains to his innings. His valiant display guided South Zone to 327/10, taking a slender 57-run lead in the first innings. The middle-order batter, however, was out for merely four runs in the second innings.
Sai Kishore leads the bowling charts
Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore, who bagged a seven-fer in the semi-finals against North Zone, snapped up a five-fer (5/86) in the first innings. He rampaged through West Zone's middle and lower order, folding them on 270. Notably, he ended up as the highest wicket-taker in Duleep Trophy 2022. He claimed 17 scalps across four innings, averaging 20.05.
A look at West Zone's journey in Duleep Trophy 2022
West Zone trounced North East Zone in the quarter-finals. Batting first, WZ smacked 590/2d, thanks to Yashasvi (228) and Rahane (207*). Unadkat (3/35) shone as North East Zone folded on 235. Later, West Zone advanced further due to the first innings lead. In semis, WZ stamped a 279-run win over Central Zone. Shaw emerged as the top performer, with a fifty and a hundred.
