Central Zone overcame some tense moments to defeat South Zone by six wickets and win the Duleep Trophy after an 11-year break in Bengaluru on Monday.
On a deteriorating fifth-day track at the BCCI CoE facilities, South bowlers taxed Central Zone’s top-order hitters as they chased a modest target of 65, but they had few runs to defend.
First-innings centurion Yash Rathod (13 not out, 16 balls) and Akshay Wadkar (19 not out, 52 balls) were at the crease when Central finally passed the target at 66 for four in 20.3 overs to win their seventh Duleep Trophy title.
South may, however, draw strength from their battle in the second innings (426), as well as their use of the ball in the last innings, which prevented Central from winning easily.
With a delivery that spun sharply and took the edge of the Central opener’s bat on its way to wicketkeeper Mohammed Azharuddeen, left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma dismissed Danish Malewar (5).
Rajat Patidar, the captain of Central, was later removed by him after he played a hasty slog sweep and was caught at mid-on by MD Nidheesh.
Gurjapneet Singh, a pacer who was called up to the India A team on Sunday, caused some anxiety in the Central camp by taking the wickets of Shubham Sharma and Saransh Jain, who was eventually named player of the series.
However, Wadkar and player of the match Rathod led Central home without suffering any further setbacks.
After leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru to IPL glory, Patidar was naturally ecstatic to win his second trophy of the year.
“Every captain likes winning trophies. But our players showed a lot of character across the tournament and I am very happy about it.
“Here the wicket was slightly dry so we decided to bat first. I am pleased for Danish and Yash, they batted well here all the tournament,” Patidar said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
Reaching the Duleep Trophy final, according to South captain Azharuddeen, will serve as incentive for them over the lengthy domestic season, which now transitions into the Ranji Trophy phase on October 15.
“We will get better from this experience, a long season ahead. Central spinners were hitting the right areas and we made a few bad decisions as a batting unit as well. But we fought well in the second innings, and happy about that we did not give up easily,” he said.
