Duleep Trophy SF: South in control despite Khajuria’s 128; Central tighten grip over West
North’s reply began poorly as pacer Gurjapneet Singh struck early, trapping captain Ankit Kumar leg before in the sixth over and later bowling Yash Dhull (14).
North’s reply began poorly as pacer Gurjapneet Singh struck early, trapping captain Ankit Kumar leg before in the sixth over and later bowling Yash Dhull (14).
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.
Ankit was unbeaten on 168 off 264 balls (16 fours, one six) and shared a massive 240-run stand with Dhull, who struck 133 off 157 balls with 14 fours and three sixes.
Nabi’s burst reduced East from 200/4 to 223/9 before they were bowled out for 230 in 56.1 overs. He became only the fourth bowler in first-class cricket to achieve the rare feat.
Put in to bat on a cloudy morning, North Zone openers Ankit Kumar (leading in Shubman Gill’s absence) and Shubham Khajuria gave a steady start, but Manishi struck thrice before lunch – all lbw – to derail the innings.
Shubham Rohilla was named as a replacement for Gill at the time of announcing the squad.
Kishan, who had already missed out on being considered as a replacement for the injured Rishabh Pant in the fifth Test against England at The Oval, is still nursing a left ankle injury sustained after falling off from a bike, which required stitches.
After an impressive outing as Team India captain in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Shubman Gill gears up to lead the North Zone team in the upcoming Duleep Trophy, starting August 28 in Bengaluru.
Seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur has been appointed captain of the 15-member West Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy matches. The selection committee meeting held at the BKC’s Sharad Pawar Indoor Cricket Academy picked seven players from Mumbai, four from Gujarat, and two each from Maharashtra and Saurashtra.
Six zones - South, Central, West, East, North, and North-East - will take part in the tournament, which will be played in a knock-out format.
