Central spin their way to title

South suffer 9-run loss as Chawla, Murtaza, Saxena wreck havoc

Central Zone bounced back from the brink to defeat a shell-shocked South Zone by nine runs to clinch the prestigious Duleep Trophy on a thrilling fifth day at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Saturday.

For most part of the match, Central Zone was overpowered and cornered but showed strong determination to fight their way back. Nobody would have thought the script would still have a final twist when South, chasing 301, began the day needing just 117 runs more to win the title, and they also had nine wickets in hand. 

KL Rahul, overnight 121, was in irrepressible form, and it appeared just a matter of time before South placed their hands on the trophy. But sport is a spectrum of limitless opportunities as Central showed in their gutsy comeback.

Central spin trio of captain Piyush Chawla (3-83), Ali Murtaza (3-59) and Jalaj Saxena (2-44) made the best use of the track once Pankaj Singh (2-45) initiated the rout by removing Rahul and Dinesh Karthik in the same over. From that point, South’s middle and lower order collapsed spectacularly, their last seven wickets falling for just 39 runs. Central Zone, who clinched their first Duleep Trophy in 10 years and sixth overall, were all over the place in rapturous celebrations.

“People would not have expected us to win in the morning but we played smart cricket. We attacked and contained when needed,” said Chawla, who was playing his 100th first-class match.

Rahul, the centurion in both the innings and the man of the match, failed to press on, becoming the first man to depart in the morning. Six overs into the day, Pankaj dismissed Rahul leg before when the batsman attempted to play across the line.

Before South recovered from that blow, Pankaj struck again in the last ball of the same over. Karthik was bowled by an inside edge for a duck for the second time in the match and against the same bowler. The twin blows pegged South back. They drew solace from the presence of another overnight batsman Baba Aparajith. With Aparajith confidently stroking the ball, Shreyas Gopal cut loose attacking Murtaza. South had begun to dictate during their 49-run partnership, and the setbacks appeared to be fleeting.

Saxena and Chawla, then stepped in, to bring Central back into contention. Saxena trapped Gopal leg before and in the next over Chawla got Aparajith stumped by wicket-keeper Naman Ojha, when the latter offered the charge.

Captain R Vinay Kumar and G Hanuma Vihari were now the best hopes for the South. But on the last ball before lunch, Murtaza with a quicker one bowled Vinay, when he came charging down the pitch and missed the line. 

South were 280 for six at lunch, and 21 runs away from a comprehensive victory over Central. 

But the last four wickets crumbled for 11 runs and South lost a contest which they had largely dominated.