Resuming the day at 297/3, South Zone lost Mohammed Azharuddeen (11) early, but Jagadeesan anchored South Zone’s innings with his marathon effort, consuming 352 deliveries and slamming 16 fours and a couple of sixes.
Photo: IANS
Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batter N Jagadeesan, recently drafted into the Indian Test squad as Rishabh Pant’s replacement for the England series decider, struck a valiant 197 on Friday to power South Zone to 536, even as Nishant Sindhu’s five-wicket burst stood out for North Zone on day two of the Duleep Trophy semifinal at the BCCI COE Ground 1 in Bengaluru.
Resuming the day at 297/3, South Zone lost Mohammed Azharuddeen (11) early, but Jagadeesan anchored South Zone’s innings with his marathon effort, consuming 352 deliveries and slamming 16 fours and a couple of sixes. He joined forces with Ricky Bhui (54) to help the side consolidate with an 87-run stand for the fifth wicket off 194 deliveries.
Advertisement
Jagadeesan, who survived a dropped chance on 163, when Sindhu couldn’t hold on to a tough chance, however, fell three shy of a splendid double century following a mix-up with Bhui just before lunch. Bhui went on to complete his fifty after the interval but was soon dismissed by Nishant Sindhu, who struck in his very first over of the second session.
Advertisement
Despite the fall of Bhui and Jagadeesan, South Zone continued to push their total forward through important lower-order contributions. Tanay Thyagarajan (58) and Gurjapneet Singh (29) added to the woes of the North Zone by sharing a crucial 63-run stand to take the South Zone past 500 before Sindhu struck again to dismiss the tail and wrap up the innings.
Even as the rest of the North Zone bowlers struggled for breakthroughs, Sindhu reaped the rewards with a tireless 47.2-over spell, returning figures of 5-125. Despite Sindhu’s effort, Jagadeesan’s masterclass and South Zone’s batting depth left them firmly in control at stumps on day two.
Brief scores: South Zone 536 all out in 169.2 overs (N Jagadeesan 197, Tanay Thyagarajan 58; Nishant Sindhu 5-125, Anshul Kamboj 2-67) against North Zone.
Malewar, Shubham fifties lead Central’s strong response
Fifties from Danish Malewar (76) and Shubham Sharma (60), along with an unbeaten 47 from skipper Rajat Patidar, powered Central Zone to 229/2 in 67 overs at stumps on Day Two of their Duleep Trophy semifinal against West Zone at the BCCI COE Ground 2 on Friday. They now trail West by 209 runs.
Earlier, West Zone were bowled out for 438, built around Ruturaj Gaikwad’s superb 184 and half-centuries from Tanush Kotian (58) and skipper Shardul Thakur (52). But their innings folded quickly in the morning, losing the last four wickets for 27 runs. Spinners Harsh Dubey and Saransh Jain claimed three wickets each for Central Zone.
Central Zone’s reply began strongly, with Malewar and Aayush Pandey (40) adding 67 for the first wicket, before Malewar stitched another 93-run stand with Shubham. Though Malewar fell to Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Patidar looked fluent to remain unbeaten alongside Shubham at stumps.
West Zone’s bowlers struggled for consistency, with skipper Thakur and Tushar Deshpande proving expensive, while Kotian and Jadeja failed to maintain pressure.
Brief scores: West Zone 438 all out in 108 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 184, Tanush Kotian 76; Harsh Dubey 3-118, Saransh Jain 3-121) lead Central Zone 229/2 in 67 overs (Danish Malewar 76, Shubham Sharma 60 not out; Arzan Nagwaswalla 1-15, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 1-38) by 209 runs.
Advertisement
