Duleep Trophy final | East bowlers have South on the mat
East Zone has taken a commanding lead over South Zone on the third day of the Duleep Trophy final. Despite resistance from Tilak Varma and Devdutt Padikkal, South Zone remains significantly behind after a strong bowling performance by Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar.
Why it matters
The Duleep Trophy is a prestigious domestic cricket tournament in India, serving as a key indicator of player form for national selection.
A disciplined bowling performance and the comfort of a huge first-innings total ensured East Zone tightened its stranglehold over South Zone on day three of the Duleep Trophy final at the MAC Stadium here.
Chasing 709, South needed more than a couple of batters to produce special knocks. Unfortunately, aside from Devdutt Padikkal (62, 104b, 4x4), none of the others showed much inclination to keep the contest alive.
In the final session, skipper Tilak Varma offered some resistance, remaining unbeaten on 56 (133b, 5x4), but it was akin to trying to keep a sinking boat afloat as his side finished on 242 for six, still 466 runs in arrears.
For East, Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar took two wickets each. The former showed that he can still make the ball talk through both conventional and reverse swing with short yet incisive spells.
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