Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy final saw South Zone take a 48-run lead over West Zone thanks to a century from Baba Indrajith.
Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy final saw South Zone take a 48-run lead over West Zone thanks to a century from Baba Indrajith. Baba Indrajith hit 118 runs quickly in 125 balls, giving South Zone a 48-run lead over West Zone. At the end of Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy final, South Zone had made 327 runs against West Zone. The 28-year-old right-hander hit 14 boundaries during his innings. Down the order, Manish Pandey (48) and Krishnappa Gowtham (43) helped push the score past West Zone’s first innings total of 270.
Particularly helpful was Pandey’s stand with Indrajith. The two of them added 105 runs for the fourth wicket when the team was struggling at 101/3 in the 27th over. Mayank Agarwal’s nine runs at the top of the order were disappointing, and captain Hanuma Vihari’s score of 25 at No. 3 was also low. Rohan Kunnummal, the other opener, added 31.
Stars of Day 2
From there on, Indrajith and Pandey led the innings. The two of them added 100 runs in just 20 overs as the conditions got better for the batters. But when Tanush Kotian got rid of Pandey in the 48th over, it led to a mini-collapse in the middle of the order. South Zone lost three wickets in 36 runs. During that time, senior pacer Jaydev Unadkat got rid of Indrajith and Ricky Bhui (4). He was also the best bowler with a spell of 4/52.
At 243/6, Gowtham’s 43 runs in 55 balls helped them get back on track. He and Ravi Teja added 62 runs for the seventh wicket. R Sai Kishore (6*) was at the other end, while Teja was still not out on 26. Atit Sethi was another bowler from the West Zone who made a difference that day. He finished with a spell of 3/51.
At the beginning of day 2
Earlier in the day, Ajinkya Rahane and his team, who started the day at 250/8, were all out for 270. When Unadkat came back to bat at 39, he was stuck at 47 because Kotian (2) and Chintan Gaja (10) were both out quickly. Gaja was the last wicket to fall. He was also Sai Kishore’s fifth victim, giving the veteran spinner a final score of 5/86.