Bengaluru: Central Zone survived some nervous moments to beat South Zone by six wickets and clinch the Duleep Trophy after a hiatus of 11 years here on Monday.
Chasing a modest target of 65, Central Zone’s top-order batters were tested by South bowlers on a crumbling fifth day track at the BCCI CoE grounds, but they did not have too many runs to defend.
Akshay Wadkar (19 not out, 52 balls) and first-innings centurion Yash Rathod (13 not out, 16 balls) were at crease when Central eventually went past the target at 66 for four in 20.3 overs to annex their seventh title in Duleep Trophy.
However, South can take heart from the fight they showed in the second innings (426) and with the ball in the final innings, delaying Central’s walk to victory.
Left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma accounted for Danish Malewar (5) with a delivery that spun sharply and took the edge of the Central opener’s bat en route to wicketkeeper Mohammed Azharuddeen.
He later added the wicket of Central captain Rajat Patidar, who played a hurried slog sweep to get caught at mid-on by MD Nidheesh.
Pacer Gurjapneet Singh, who earned an India A call on Sunday, picked up the scalps of Shubham Sharma and the promoted Saransh Jain, who was later adjudged player of the series, to create some anxious moments in the Central camp.
But player of the match Rathod and Wadkar steered Central home without further damage.
For Patidar, it was his second title this year after guiding Royal Challengers Bengaluru to victory in the IPL, and he was understandably delighted.
“Every captain likes winning trophies. But our players showed a lot of character across the tournament and I am very happy about it.
“Here the wicket was slightly dry so we decided to bat first. I am pleased for Danish and Yash, they batted well here all the tournament,” Patidar said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
South skipper Azharuddeen said reaching the final of the Duleep Trophy will work as a motivation for them in a long domestic season, which now enters the Ranji Trophy phase from October 15.
“We will get better from this experience, a long season ahead. Central spinners were hitting the right areas and we made a few bad decisions as a batting unit as well. But we fought well in the second innings, and happy about that we did not give up easily,” he said.
