Duleep Trophy: Pujara, Suryakumar fifties put West in control against Central Zone; South vs North evenly poised

Cheteshwar Pujara looked rock-solid while Suryakumar Yadav played his natural attacking game as their contrasting half-centuries put West Zone in complete control after left-arm medium pacer Arzan Nagwaswalla’s five-wicket haul floored Central Zone on the second day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final on Thursday. At stumps, West Zone reached 149 for 3 in their second essay, extending their overall lead to 241. This was after Shivam Mavi (6/44) quickly wrapped up the West Zone first innings for 220, for the addition of just four runs to their overnight score. But the joy turned out to be a short-lived one as Nagwaswalla, who has gone as net bowler with senior India team in 2021 tour of England, took 5/74 in 14.3 overs to decimate Central Zone for 128 in just 31.3 overs. While he was hit for runs, he always got the breakthrough at right time en route his sixth five-wicket haul in first class cricket. Save Dhruv Jurel (46) and his UP teammate Rinku Singh (48), none of the other Central batters could even cross a personal score of 15 and seven of them were dismissed before reaching double digits. Buoyed by a 92-run first innings lead, West batters gave a far better account of themselves as Pujara remained unbeaten on 50 off 103 balls with five boundaries at the end of second day’s play. However, Suryakumar’ 52 off 58 balls with eight fours and a six might have given the decisive advantage to West. The two India internationals added 95 runs in just over 24 overs. Sarfaraz Khan (6 batting) will get a chance to make amends for his 12-ball-duck in the first innings. The third day is expected to be the best day for batting and the West, having already put one foot in the summit door, would just like to kill the game as a contest unless Avesh Khan and Shivam Mavi could bowl a magical spell and keep the target within reach. Suryakumar was severe on the pacers as Avesh was pulled for a six behind square while Mavi and Yash Thakur were also punished. He hit three boundaries each off pacer Yash Thakur and left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar. A couple of hits to the fence were of Mavi’s bowling. Pujara’s innings had a couple of extra-cover drives, two customary clips towards deep mid-wicket and a square cut that raced away. A big score will certainly boost his confidence after being excluded from the Indian team touring the West Indies. Brief Scores: West Zone: 220 all out in 92.5 overs (Shivam Mavi 6/44) and 149/3 in 39 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 50 batting, Suryakumar Yadav 52, Sarfaraz Khan batting 6, Saurabh Kumar 2/34). Central Zone: 128 in 31.3 overs (Rinku Singh 48, Dhruv Jurel 46, Arzan Nagwaswalla 5/74). Mayank scores half-century as South vs North match evenly poised After their batsmen’s limp outing, North Zone bowlers produced a gritty effort to bowl out South Zone for 195 to give their team a slender advantage on the second day of the Duleep Trophy semifinals here on Thursday. At close, North were 51 for 2 in their second innings for a lead of 54 runs. They would want to build on this thin platform substantially on Day 3. When it was their turn, South Zone had a chance to construct a bigger total but bulked under the constant pressure applied by North bowlers. South started the day at 63 for 4 while chasing North’s first innings 198. It was a nervy situation alright but the presence of Mayank Agarwal and N Tilak Varma, starting on 37 and 12 respectively, would have upped the optimism of South to raise a sizable score. It was not entirely unfounded too. The fifth-wicket pair, which had joined forces when South were 35 for 4, resisted with aplomb a spirited attack that fully exploited the overcast conditions. There were fortunate moments too as some edges fell short of the fielders or the ball eluded the bat’s edge by the most miniscule of margins. But they were still solid enough to amass 110 runs that helped South move to 145, and within striking distance of North’s total. Mayank was the dominant partner during this alliance, and it was not really surprising either. The Karnataka batsman was the highest run-getter in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season, scoring 990 runs from 13 innings. Mayank swiftly completed a fifty, and in the first session of the day he made 30 runs off 49 balls with four fours. If the innings can be taken as an indication, then the 32-year-old could produce another run-drenched season in domestic circuit. On the other hand, Tilak was compact in his approach as this was his first First-Class game of the year after missing the whole of the Ranji Trophy last year owing to an injury. The Hyderabad left-hander looked the part too as he drove, especially through the ‘V’ down the ground, with elan. However, both the batters missed the personal landmarks of hundred and fifty. Mayank perished to Jayant Yadav in his attempt to step out and tackle the off-spinner for 76, while Tilak fell to pacer Vaibhav Arora for 46. Their dismissals opened the door for North Zone bowlers and they rushed in through it, striking at regular intervals. R Sai Kishore played a cameo of 21 that seemed to be good enough to give South an important first-innings lead. However, Jayant snaffled him to end such hopes.