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Duleep Trophy
Yashasvi Jaiswal's sparkling fifty remained a mere personal landmark as Central Zone advanced to the Duleep Trophy final by virtue of their first innings lead in the drawn match against West Zone here on Sunday. Central Zone will now face South Zone in the final which is scheduled from September 11. Jaiswal (64) peppered the boundary lines often in his 70-ball innings that helped West reach 216 for eight in their second innings, but the 162-run innings lead that they conceded earlier sealed their fate. Central, overnight 556 for eight, were bowled out for 600 but not before Saransh Jain (63 not out) compiled a well-deserved fifty. West skipper Shadul Thakur (6) was dismissed at the stroke of tea, with Tanush Kotian (40) batting at the other end, and the both teams agreed to shake hands at that point, signalling a draw. While not seeing his side in the title clash might come as a disappointment for Jaiswal, he would be happy to spend some good time in the middle for the first time
N Jagadeesan struck an unbeaten 52 to extend South Zone's dominance as they advanced to the final of the Duleep Trophy after taking a 175-run first-innings lead against North Zone here on Sunday. South Zone will take on Central Zone in the summit clash of the tournament here from September 11. South Zone reached 95 for one when the game was called off with Jagadeesan, who had struck a brilliant 197 in the first innings, reaching 52 not out off 69 balls with six fours to carry on with his red-hot form. At the other end was Devdutt Padikkal on 16 not out. North Zone, under pressure after their opponents piled up 536 in the first innings, had resumed the play on Sunday at 278 for five with 258 runs in arrears. Shubham Khajuria, who struck a gritty century on the third day of the contest to reach 128, failed to add to his overnight score as he was cleaned up by Vasuki Koushik for the first wicket on the final day's second over. Khajuria's innings ended on 128 off 252 balls with 20 fo
Kerala batter Mohammed Azharuddeen on Sunday replaced Tilak Varma as the South Zone captain for the Duleep Trophy semifinal against North Zone, starting at the BCCI Centre of Excellence on September 4. Tilak Varma, who was originally named the South skipper, will not be playing the Duleep Trophy after he was named in the India squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. Azharuddeen was the vice-captain of the side, and now that role has been handed to Tamil Nadu's N Jagadeesan. Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore too will not be playing in the semifinal for South Zone as he is still recuperating from a hand injury that forced him to skip the recent Buchi Babu Trophy. Ankit Sharma of Puducherry and Shaikh Rasheed of Andhra have been added to the South squad for the Duleep Trophy last four match. Both the players were already named in the standbys. Ankit is a left-arm spinner who has taken 168 wickets from 68 First-Class matches, while Rasheed is a 20-year-old top-order batter who has m
India batter N Tilak Varma was on Sunday named as the South Zone skipper in the season-opening Duleep Trophy to be held here next month. The 22-year-old Tilak, who has played four ODIs and 25 T20Is, was in fine touch for Hampshire recently, smashing 100, 56, 47 and 112 in four innings for the English county side. Kerala players were rewarded for their excellent run till the Ranji Trophy final as four players from the state found place in the 16-member squad. They were: Mohammed Azharuddeen, who will be Tilak's deputy, MD Nidheesh, Basil NP and Salman Nizar. Tamil Nadu batter Narayan Jagadeesan, who has flown to England as a cover for the injured Rishabh Pant, senior left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore and middle-order batter Devdutt Padikkal too are in the squad. India and Karnataka pacer Vyshak Vijaykumar will lead the South Zone bowling attack. Meanwhile, prolific batter R Smaran, who was Karnataka's highest run-getter in last season's Ranji Trophy with 516 runs, has been included
Shashwat Rawat led India A's dramatic recovery with an unbeaten 122 to steer them to 224 for seven on day one of the Duleep Trophy tie against India C here on Thursday. The left-handed batter, who plays for Baroda in domestic cricket, got support only from Shams Mulani (44 off 76) after India A were reduced to 36 for five in the 20th over. Last match's centurion Pratham Singh, captain Mayank Agarwal, Tilak Varma and Riyan Parag all fell in single digits. Pacer Anshul Kamboj, who took eight wickets in an innings last week, was again the standout bowler for India C. It was a knock to remember for Rawat who collected 15 fours in his unbeaten 235-ball effort. The elegant southpaw played an array of delightful shots through his epic innings including straight drives, cover drives and even reverse sweeps off the spinners. He shared a much-needed 87-run stand with bowling all-rounder Mulani who once again came to the team's rescue with the bat following a match-winning effort in the previ
The under-pressure Shreyas Iyer's dismal run continued but strong performances from the other frontline batters, including Sanju Samson, guided India D to 306 for five on the opening day of their Duleep Trophy match against India B here on Thursday. Iyer, aiming to make a comeback to India's Test squad, fell for a second successive duck in the ongoing tournament. However, Devdutt Padikkal (50), Srikar Bharat (52), RickyBhui (56) and Samson (89 not out) smashed half-centuries as India D batters produced a solid show. At stumps, Samson and Saransh Jain (26) were at the crease. For India B, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar (3/60) was the standout bowler, claiming three wickets. Mukesh Kumar (1/37) and Navdeep Saini (1/51) picked up a wicket each after India B won the toss and elected to field first at the Rural Development Trust Stadium. Opening the innings, Padikkal and Bharat put together a solid 105-run partnership. However, Saini provided the breakthrough by removing Padikkal, followed b
Pacer Anshul Kamboj ended up with an eight-wicket haul as India C took the lead in the Duleep Trophy standings on the basis of the first innings lead against India B here. Resuming day four at 309 for seven, India B were dismissed for 332 in 108 overs with Kamboj cleaning up the tail to add to his overnight five wickets. India B skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran remained unbeaten on 157 off 286 balls. India C, who amassed 525 in the first innings, reached 128 for four in their second innings and that was the moment where players to decided to shake hands. India C got three points for the first innings lead, pushing them to top with nine points in two games while India B got a solitary point for a draw. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (62) stuck his second fifty of the match while Rajat Patidar was dismissed in the 40s for the second consecutive time in the game. It was only the third time in Duleep Trophy history that a pacer had taken eight wickets or more in an innings. Kamboj was deservingly
Ricky Bhui delayed the inevitable with a stubborn hundred, but spinners Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian eventually brought India D to their knees as India A walked away with a 186-run win in the Duleep Trophy match here on Sunday. Bhui, starting from overnight 44, made 113 (195b, 14x4, 3x6) but India D, overnight 62, were bundled out for 301, chasing 488. The victory enabled India A to stay in contention for the title with 6 points. But they will have to get a favourable result against table-toppers India C (9 points) in their next match here from September 19. India D, out of title race after two successive defeats, will be up against second-placed India B, who have 7 points. On a pitch that gave copious assistance to the spinners, the 'D' batters needed to show tremendous application to hang around. But apart from Bhui none really showed the stomach for a fight. Bhui's second-wicket stand with Yash Dubey (37) was worth 100 runs but Dubey got run out, and in his next over Mulani .
Ishan Kishan marked his First-Class return after well over a year with a wonderful hundred, the backbone of India C's day one total of 357 for five against India B in the Duleep Trophy match here on Thursday. Kishan's 111 (126b, 14x4, 3x6) lifted India C from a slightly wobbly 97 two after they lost Rajat Patidar (40) and B Sai Sudharsan (43) in quick succession. The innings also underlined the fitness of the 26-year-old, who was originally in India D squad, as he missed the first round of Duleep Trophy with a groin injury. Sanju Samson was drafted in as Kishan's replacement in India D squad, necessitating the redrafting of the former into India C. Cutting back to the match, India C's situation was compounded by skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad's return to the hut with an ankle niggle after facing just two balls. However, any major concern over Gaikwad's fitness was allayed when he came out to bat after Kishan's dismissal, making an unbeaten 46 (50b, 7x4, 2x6) to guard the crease along wit
Bowling all-rounder Shams Mulani stood on the cusp of his maiden first-class hundred after leading India A's remarkable recovery to steer them to 288 for eight on day one of their Duleep Trophy fixture against India D here on Thursday. Mulani (88 not out off 174) forged a 91-run stand with fellow Mumbai teammate Tanush Kotian (53 off 80) to save the day for India A who were reduced to 93 for five inside the first session. Kumar Kushagra (28 off 66) too provided much-needed support to Mulani, who collected eight fours and three sixes in his unbeaten effort. The southpaw would be aiming to surpass his highest score of 97 on Friday. Mulani, whose main role in the side is of a spinner, effectively used his feet against the slow bowlers especially against fellow left-armer Saurabh Kumar. Against the quicker bowlers, his play square of the wicket stood out. He brought his half-century with a six down the ground off Saurabh, soon after smashing pacer Arshdeep Singh for a maximum over deep
Fringe players like Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube along with some seasoned name who have been ignored by the national selectors will be aiming to attract their attention when round two of Duleep Trophy begins here on Thursday. The star power in the season-opening red-ball event will be reduced significantly for round two with India squad players released for a national camp ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai from September 19. Sarfaraz Khan is the lone India squad member who will be featuring in the domestic competition. In the absence of national regulars, the focus will shift on the likes of Rinku, who was surprisingly not picked for the first round despite having an impressive first-class record. The spirited southpaw has also done well for India in T20 cricket. Shubman Gill joining the national team has led to Mayank Agarwal captaining the India A unit. Having played his last Test in March 2022, Agarwal needs a bagful of runs to get back into national ...
Majority of the players picked in the India squad for the first Test against Bangladesh, including Rishabh Pant, K L Rahul and Shubman Gill, were on Tuesday rested for the second round of Duleep Trophy beginning here on September 12. The others picked in the national squad on Sunday include Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel, who all have been exempted from the second round. Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal and Sarfaraz Khan, who too are part of India's 16-man squad for the opening Test, have not been released from their Duleep Trophy duties indicating they won't be part of the playing eleven against Bangladesh in the game to be played in Chennai. "The selectors have named Pratham Singh (Railways) as a replacement for Gill, Akshay Wadkar (Vidarbha CA) as a replacement for KL Rahul and SK Rasheed (Andhra CA) as a replacement for Jurel," said the BCCI in a statement. "Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani will replace Kuldeep in the squad whereas Aaqib Khan (UPC
The audacity of Rishabh Pant, who made a fifty, and Sarfaraz Khan helped India B waddle past persistent India A pacers to post a momentum grabbing second innings total of 150 for six after Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy match here on Saturday. India B are now ahead by 240 runs with Washington Sundar (6) at crease after bowling out their rivals for 231 in their first innings to take a 90-run lead. Pant was the headliner of the day with a 61 off 47 balls (4x9, 6x2). But that lead suddenly looked so feeble when pacers Khaleel Ahmed (2/56) and Akash Deep (2/36) combined to reduce India B to 22 for three inside eight overs, overall lead standing at 132 at that point. Skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran and first innings centurion Musheer Khan (0) fell to Akash Deep, while Yashasvi Jaiswal perished to Ahmed, and all three catches were taken by stumper Dhruv Jurel. India B went to tea at 33 for three. In that context, it would not have been entirely out of place to imagine for Pant and Sarfaraz (46, 3
Navdeep Saini reminded of his presence among the fringe pacers with a quality new ball spell that helped India B to keep India A in check at 134 for two in the first innings, after the second day of their Duleep Trophy match here on Friday. India B needed their bowlers to carry on the excellent effort of Musheer Khan (181, 373b, 16x4, 5x6) that powered B' to 321 in their first innings. KL Rahul (23, 80 balls) and Riyan Parag (27, 49 balls) are at the crease at stumps, with India A in arrears by 187 runs. Saini, who is out of favour since the 2021 away series against Australia, showed some spark to eke out the wickets of India A skipper Shubman Gill (25) and his opening partner Mayank Agarwal (36). The right-arm quick broke the first-wicket alliance 57 between Gill and Agarwal at the stroke of tea to give his side the first breakthrough. Gill, who crunched a couple of exquisite fours off left-arm seamer Yash Dayal, shouldered arms to an incoming delivery that crashed onto the ...