Karthik leads South charge
Hyderabad, Feb. 2: An empty stadium did not deter South Zone skipper Dinesh Karthik one bit as he scripted a sensational unbeaten 161 to take his team to 356/6 on Day One of the Duleep Trophy final against West Zone here on Tuesday.
Karthik walked to the crease in the 23rd over of the day, with his team’s total reading 76/3.
The diminutive batsman was ruthless from the word go. He cut, pulled and drove the West attack to all parts of the park and kept the scoreboard ticking with some purposeful running between the wickets.
Karthik’s 23 hits to the fence were a testimony to his aggressive intent, despite losing partners at regular intervals.
Earlier in the day, the Hyderabad Cricket Association decided not to allow spectators into the stadium fearing crowd trouble due to the Telangana unrest.
HCA vice-president Shivlal Yadav said, "The gates were closed due to security reasons. We wanted the match to go on uninterrupted and did not want to take any chances."
Karthik called correctly and was immediately made to rue his decision when Irfan Pathan trapped opener K.B. Pawan to reduce the side to 10/1.
South Zone soon found themselves in a spot of bother at 34/2 when Irfan removed Anirudha Srikkanth (19), caught by wicketkeeper Pinal Shah.
Arun Karthik and Ganesh Satish then began the repair work, adding 42 for the third wicket before Dhawal Kulkarni removed the former for 22. The game had titled towards the West.
In walked the skipper who turned proceedings on their head. He first ensured that there were no more dismissals in the morning session, taking his team to 106/3 at lunch.
The session after lunch saw Karthik buying his time in gauging the attack before going for the onslaught. He first hit Ravindra Jadeja for three boundaries in an over and then took Kulkarni and Ramesh Powar to the cleaners, ensuring that there was just one team would walk away with the opening day’s honours.
Karthik was well supported by teammates G. Satish (53), Gautam (49) and Prem (24) during the course of his monumental knock.
While West’s attack looked ordinary for the better part of the day, Irfan showed glimpses of his old self, managing to land deliveries in the right areas, though his figures of 3/68 may not truly reflect the kind of form he showed in the middle.
On the other hand, Karthik will look to tighten the noose around West Zone on Day Two and build on the sound start his team got against their favoured opponents.
Scores: South Zone 356/6 (Dinesh Karthik batting 161, Satish 53, Irfan Pathan 3/68) vs West Zone
Prasad Ramasubramanian
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