<p>Bengaluru: Batting failures come in different forms, shapes and sizes. On Thursday, at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence on the outskirts of the City, it was on a flat surface that did not have much to offer for the bowlers. </p>.<p>Central Zone’s Saransh Jain and Kumar Kartikeya exposed South's batting vulnerabilities as they were skittled for 149 in 63 overs on the opening day to gain control of the Duleep Trophy final.</p>.Duleep Trophy | It's South bowling vs Central batting in final. <p>After spinning out South, Danish Malewar (28 not out) and Akshay Wadkar (20 not out) were at the crease at stumps, trailing the hosts by 99 runs. </p>.<p>On a day where the CZ bowlers pulled the strings, especially the spinners, their openers impressed with intent and temperament to see the day through. </p>.<p>Earlier, Central skipper Rajat Patidar called it right and opted to have a bowl with some cloud cover and cool breeze, despite the 22-yard strip at the CoE being a bat-first wicket. </p>.<p>The spinners got some bite out of the surface but it was more of South batters' frailties that ignited the first-innings collapse. </p>.<p>Saransh finished with 5 for 49 for the day, bringing the South Zone batting to their knees. However, it was his team-mate Kartikeya who smelled blood early on and sparked the fire.</p>.<p>The spin duo, sharp and disciplined, made the most of what was available and only had to keep putting the ball in the right areas and await the bounty.</p>.<p>Kartikeya, who was drafted into the squad for Harsh Dubey, looked to scratch the outside edge on a consistent basis but his first breakthrough when he cleaned up Mohit Kale for 9, after frustrating him to play across the line. </p>.<p>He continued to arrest the momentum with dots and then had Karnataka’s R Smaran caught at short mid-wicket cheaply for 1. South Zone pressed the self-destruction button when a decently set Tanmay Agarwal was run out after a collision with Ricky Bhui. </p>.<p>The 27-year-old then produced a delivery that would run through Mohammed Azharudeen’s mind till he bats again: drifting on middle stump, then slowly going past his outside edge to take the off stump. </p>.<p>Saransh provided good support, bowling tight lines and later trapping Ricky Bhui in front for 15. He then sent Andre Siddarth packing for just 12.</p>.<p>Salman Nizar valiantly tried to counter attack his way through the spin web but fell shortly to Saransh for 24. </p>.<p>The No. 8 Ankit Sharma provided a bit of resistance but the tail did not wag further as the hosts were bowled out for 149 and will now play catch-up for the rest of the first innings. </p>.<p><strong>SCOREBOARD: </strong>SOUTH ZONE: Tanmay Agarwal (run out) 31 (76b 3x4) Mohit Kale b Kartikeya 9 (50b) Smaran Ravichandran c Saransh b Kartikeya 1 (19b) Ricky Bhui lbw Saransh 15 (53b 2x4) Mohammed Azharuddeen b Kartikeya 4 (9b) Salman Nizar c Patidar b Saransh 24 (52b 2x4 1x6) Andre Siddarth C st Upendra b Saransh 12 (19b 1x4) Ankit Sharma lbw Saransh 20(64b 2x4) Gurjapneeth Singh lbw Kartikeya 2 (13b) Nidheesh c & b Saransh 12 (13b 1x4) V Koushik (not out) 2 (13b). Extras (B-8 LB-6 NB-3) 17. TOTAL (all out 63 overs) 149. Fall of wickets: 1-27 (Kale) 2-35 (Smaran) 3-47 (Tanmay) 4-57 (Azharuddeen) 5-65 (Bhui) 6-97 (Siddarth) 7-116 (Salman) 8-129 (Gurjapneeth) 9-142 (Nidheesh) Bowling: Chahar 6-1-11-0 Thakare 4-2-7-0 Sen 8-3-15-0 Karthikeya 21-1-53-4 Saransh 24-2-49-5. CENTRAL ZONE: Danish Malewar 28 (batting) (64b 3x4) Akshay Wadkar 20 (batting) (52b 3x4). Extras (NB-2) 2. TOTAL (for no loss 19 overs) 50. Bowling: Gurjapneet 4-1-21-0 Ankit 8-1-22-0 Nidheesh 3-1-6-0 Koushik 4-3-1-0.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Batting failures come in different forms, shapes and sizes. On Thursday, at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence on the outskirts of the City, it was on a flat surface that did not have much to offer for the bowlers. </p>.<p>Central Zone’s Saransh Jain and Kumar Kartikeya exposed South's batting vulnerabilities as they were skittled for 149 in 63 overs on the opening day to gain control of the Duleep Trophy final.</p>.Duleep Trophy | It's South bowling vs Central batting in final. <p>After spinning out South, Danish Malewar (28 not out) and Akshay Wadkar (20 not out) were at the crease at stumps, trailing the hosts by 99 runs. </p>.<p>On a day where the CZ bowlers pulled the strings, especially the spinners, their openers impressed with intent and temperament to see the day through. </p>.<p>Earlier, Central skipper Rajat Patidar called it right and opted to have a bowl with some cloud cover and cool breeze, despite the 22-yard strip at the CoE being a bat-first wicket. </p>.<p>The spinners got some bite out of the surface but it was more of South batters' frailties that ignited the first-innings collapse. </p>.<p>Saransh finished with 5 for 49 for the day, bringing the South Zone batting to their knees. However, it was his team-mate Kartikeya who smelled blood early on and sparked the fire.</p>.<p>The spin duo, sharp and disciplined, made the most of what was available and only had to keep putting the ball in the right areas and await the bounty.</p>.<p>Kartikeya, who was drafted into the squad for Harsh Dubey, looked to scratch the outside edge on a consistent basis but his first breakthrough when he cleaned up Mohit Kale for 9, after frustrating him to play across the line. </p>.<p>He continued to arrest the momentum with dots and then had Karnataka’s R Smaran caught at short mid-wicket cheaply for 1. South Zone pressed the self-destruction button when a decently set Tanmay Agarwal was run out after a collision with Ricky Bhui. </p>.<p>The 27-year-old then produced a delivery that would run through Mohammed Azharudeen’s mind till he bats again: drifting on middle stump, then slowly going past his outside edge to take the off stump. </p>.<p>Saransh provided good support, bowling tight lines and later trapping Ricky Bhui in front for 15. He then sent Andre Siddarth packing for just 12.</p>.<p>Salman Nizar valiantly tried to counter attack his way through the spin web but fell shortly to Saransh for 24. </p>.<p>The No. 8 Ankit Sharma provided a bit of resistance but the tail did not wag further as the hosts were bowled out for 149 and will now play catch-up for the rest of the first innings. </p>.<p><strong>SCOREBOARD: </strong>SOUTH ZONE: Tanmay Agarwal (run out) 31 (76b 3x4) Mohit Kale b Kartikeya 9 (50b) Smaran Ravichandran c Saransh b Kartikeya 1 (19b) Ricky Bhui lbw Saransh 15 (53b 2x4) Mohammed Azharuddeen b Kartikeya 4 (9b) Salman Nizar c Patidar b Saransh 24 (52b 2x4 1x6) Andre Siddarth C st Upendra b Saransh 12 (19b 1x4) Ankit Sharma lbw Saransh 20(64b 2x4) Gurjapneeth Singh lbw Kartikeya 2 (13b) Nidheesh c & b Saransh 12 (13b 1x4) V Koushik (not out) 2 (13b). Extras (B-8 LB-6 NB-3) 17. TOTAL (all out 63 overs) 149. Fall of wickets: 1-27 (Kale) 2-35 (Smaran) 3-47 (Tanmay) 4-57 (Azharuddeen) 5-65 (Bhui) 6-97 (Siddarth) 7-116 (Salman) 8-129 (Gurjapneeth) 9-142 (Nidheesh) Bowling: Chahar 6-1-11-0 Thakare 4-2-7-0 Sen 8-3-15-0 Karthikeya 21-1-53-4 Saransh 24-2-49-5. CENTRAL ZONE: Danish Malewar 28 (batting) (64b 3x4) Akshay Wadkar 20 (batting) (52b 3x4). Extras (NB-2) 2. TOTAL (for no loss 19 overs) 50. Bowling: Gurjapneet 4-1-21-0 Ankit 8-1-22-0 Nidheesh 3-1-6-0 Koushik 4-3-1-0.</p>
