JOIN USDefending champions East Zone will seek to do an encore when they meet an upbeat Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy cricket tournament final here on Sunday which is a virtual replay of the last edition played in Indore.
While Central will like to exact revenge after being humiliated by an innings and 20 runs in the last edition, East Zone led by Natraj Behra will like to prove the sceptics that their triumph last time was no fluke.
However, there has been heavy rain in the city for the past two days and if things don’t change drastically, there is a possibility of a delayed start.
The duel between the Central batsmen and East bowlers is likely to decide the outcome of the match.
The Central batsmen have shown the kind of batting depth they have while surpassing a commendable 451 by North Zone riding on an incredible 10th-wicket partnership of 127 runs between Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rituraj Singh.
The pitch at the Chepauk stadium is known to get slower as the game progresses and one would expect the team that wins the toss to bat first.
The key batsmen for Central will be last season’s highest run-scorer Robin Bist, talented Rajasthan player Ashok Menaria along with veteran skipper Mohammed Kaif and wicketkeepr Mahesh Rawat.