Duleep Trophy 2023 Final: Tilak Verma, Mayank Agarwal’s flop show headlines on Day 1 of West Zone vs South Zone clash

West Zone bowlers left South Zone in a vulnerable position at 182 for seven on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final on Wednesday. Fielding at will, West never let go of the lead on a largely cloudy day, which was eventually canceled with a few minutes left in the extended session due to bad light.

Captain Hanuma Vihari struggled alone for South by scoring 63 runs in 130 balls. But the circumstances meant that the heroism of one man alone would not be enough. West Zone pacers Arjan Nagwaswala, Chintan Gaja and Atit Sheth must be commended for keeping a tight grip on the South Zone batting even though they were operating in a favorable position.

He moved the ball admirably to keep South openers Mayank Agarwal and R Samarth alert. The first wicket was not long in coming, although it was the result of batsman’s insensitivity.

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Samarth opted to cut Gaja’s short and wide delivery outside off-stump and Harvik Desai, who replaced Het Patel, completed a simple catch behind the stumps. After this Mayank and Tilak Verma started taking things forward for South. In the process, Mayank, who opened the match with 6976 runs, also completed 7000 runs in first-class cricket in 159 innings.

However, Mayank could not convert the start into a goal. He often tried to negate movement while on the pitch, and this was bound to have unwanted consequences at some point.

It soon happened. The Karnataka right-handed batsman’s drive off Sheth had fatal consequences and he was caught by Sarfaraz Khan at third slip. South were in some danger at 42 for 2 but after that it was their best performance of the innings. Tilak and Hanuma Vihari put on 79 runs for the third wicket, taking the South side to a safe zone. South went to lunch at 100 for two.

Vihari was particularly impressive, neutralizing the fast bowlers in manual-perfect manner. The right-hander from Hyderabad quickly played the ball close to his body, reducing bounce and movement. This helped him to take on opposing West bowlers for more than three hours a day.

Vihari produced a wrist flick whenever the pacer hit his pads, adding a touch of elegance to his otherwise stupendous innings. The extra seconds he had in hand to play the ball was quite evident and his approach was very different from the other top order batsmen from the south who were looking for the ball.

Unfortunately, he too had to face ruin due to playing late. Vihari tried to cut late left-arm spinner Shams Mulani but the ball hit the stumps after taking the edge of his bat. West Zone quickly devoured the South batting line-up in the post-lunch session, losing Tilak to Nagwaswala. West troubled his opponents in this period, taking four wickets for 66 runs.