South Zone take charge
Hyderabad, Feb. 3: On a day when 14 wickets fell, it was South Zone that grabbed the initiative, taking a 191-run lead over West Zone in the Duleep Trophy final at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday.
Chandrasekar Ganapathy (5/75) destroyed the famed West Zone batting line-up with an incisive spell that saw them being shot out for a modest 251 in 56.2 overs despite a fighting innings from Yusuf Pathan (108).
West pulled things back in the morning session as Irfan Pathan ended with figures of 5/100.
Dinesh Karthik (183) was denied a double-century when the right-hander went for a jab only to be caught at third-man. Interestingly, the South Zone skipper was shielding Hyderabad’s Alfred Absolem who showed his skills with the willow, hitting three boundaries in an unbeaten cameo of 15.
Irfan signalled the end of South Zone’s first innings at 400, when he sent No. 11 Aushik Srinivas’ stump for a walk to pick up his 300th first-class victim.
West Zone began shakily, losing both openers with just 18 on board. In walked Yusuf who counter-attacked in his inimitable style. He wielded the long handle to good effect and the South Zone attack suddenly turned pedestrian from being perilous.
West Zone suffered a twin-jolt when Ganapathy removed skipper Wasim Jaffer and Bhavik Thaker with the team total reading 70.
But that did not deter Yusuf who dared to attack, hitting five towering sixes and 12 sweetly timed fours in his 76-ball stay at the wicket. When Yusuf departed with his team placed at 161/6, the follow-on loomed large. But the tail wagged, adding 90 valuable runs to lend some respectability to West Zone’s total.
Scores: South Zone 400 (G. Satish 53, Dinesh Karthik 183, M. Gautam 49, Irfan Pathan 5/100) and 42/0 vs West Zone 251 (Yusuf Pathan 108, C. Ganapathy 5/75, Arvind 2/76)
Prasad Ramasubramanian
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