Duleep Trophy final: Lakshmipathy Balaji backs R Smaran, Andre Siddarth at heart of fightback

Bengaluru: In the Duleep Trophy final, South Zone were dismissed for 149 all out in just 63 overs in the first innings on day 1, which eventually paved way for a Central Zone hammering at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. 

Despite playing catch-up for almost the full course of the game, South Zone head coach Lakshmipathy Balaji was particularly impressed with the improvement shown by an inexperienced side, especially after being put under pressure. 

“The boys did their best and picked up wickets whenever there was an opportunity. We played a good brand of cricket overall and we tried our best with the inexperienced side,” Balaji said at the post-match press conference. 

After a first innings meltdown, South Zone put up a serious recovery to drag the game into the fifth and final day. Karnataka’s R Smaran, Tamil Nadu's Andre Siddarth and Puducherry's Ankit Sharma were at the heart of the fightback.

Smaran and Siddarth came into the South Zone squad as replacements for the outgoing Devdutt Padikkal and N Jagadeesan, having already made the zonal reserves after impressive performances for their state sides.

The duo, despite being just an year old into the Ranji Trophy system, have shown immense promise and Balaji feels the youngsters have it in them to showcase their quality at the highest level. 

“They both (Siddarth and Smaran) came into the side as replacements and I think both of them are quality players and they had good outings for first-timers. And to have this kind of exposure is always big and they definitely have the talent to justify themselves in the next level.”

South Zone had somehow managed to get into a position where they were hanging in desperately but the fight simply ran out towards the end on a surface that had started to play a few tricks. While Central's spinners picked 16 of the 20 wickets, the hosts had only opted for one specialist spinner, which proved fatal. 

Balaji, however, played down the team selection and stressed on the combination that had been working for South with three quicks. 

"We played three seamers in the previous game and we wanted to stick to the same combination. All the bowlers bowled their heart out and I am sure, had we won the toss, the third seamer would have helped. But I felt like the boys did well selection wise and were consistent when it comes to the combination."

The Duleep Trophy, once a consistent platform to restore hopes of national selection or India A promotion, has gradually gone down in significance over the years. 

However, Balaji expects the competition to regain its accolades and also hopes the people give it the right amount of recognition it deserves. 

"Duleep Trophy has been one of the major tournaments and the recognition of it used to be very high. It is high now as well. The performances have earned players’ places in India A and so on. I am sure people will look up to the Duleep Trophy. I also got selected for my comeback in 2005 after picking six wickets and that is how it was played. So, I am sure in the future they will also give the recognition it deserves."