In pursuit of a target of 298 runs, West Zone, who resumed their innings at 182/5 on the final day, were eventually bowled out for 222.
Left-arm spinner Sai Kishore and pacer Vasuki Koushik were the standout performers with the ball for South Zone, accounting for seven wickets between them.
This victory marked South Zone’s 14th Duleep Trophy title, and it held special significance as a form of redemption. In the previous year’s final, West Zone had triumphed over South Zone by a massive margin of 294 runs.
South Zone faced a major hurdle in their quest for the title in the form of Priyank Panchal, who had resumed his innings on 92. However, Panchal could only add three runs to his overnight score before edging a delivery from pacer Vidwath Kaverappa, who was later named the ‘Man of the Match’, to wicketkeeper Ricky Bhui.
With Panchal’s dismissal, West Zone’s hopes of staging a comeback were effectively dashed.
Atit Sheth and Dharmendra Jadeja added 23 runs for the eighth wicket. This partnership, lasting 54 minutes, helped West Zone surpass the 200-run mark, giving them a glimmer of hope.
However, that hope was quickly extinguished. Washington Sundar positioned himself perfectly to catch a skier from Jadeja off the bowling of spinner Sai Kishore, who played a key role throughout the match.
(AI image)
It was then just a matter of time before South Zone celebrated their moment of glory as Sheth attempted a lofted shot against Sai Kishore but could only find Washington at long-on.
(With agency inputs)
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