Duleep Trophy 2023 Final, Day 3: Kaverappa takes 7, but West Zone strike back with the ball

The Duleep Trophy 2023 final at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru continued to be dominated by bowlers on Day 3 as well on Friday.

Resuming their first innings on 129/7, West Zone were bowled out for 146 as Vidwath Kaverappa finished with 7/53. However, South Zone also struggled in their second innings and were 181/7 by stumps in the Duleep Trophy 2023 final. They, however, have a significant lead of 248 and thus hold the edge in the final.

After gaining a 67-run first-innings lead, South Zone got off to a poor start with the bat, losing two wickets with only eight runs on the board. Ravikumar Samarth (5) was bowled by Chintan Gaja (1/40), while Arzan Nagwaswalla (2/52) knocked over Tilak Varma (3).

Mayank Agarwal (35) and Hanuma Vihari (42) gave the batting side a lift, adding 64 runs for the third wicket. The impressive partnership was broken when Nagwaswalla got the better of Agarwal. Vihari was the next to go, caught behind off Atit Sheth’s (2/38) bowling.

Ricky Bhui (37) and Sachin Baby (28) consolidated South Zone’s innings, adding 59 runs for the fifth wicket. The partnership was broken when Sheth cleaned up Baby. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (2/27) then trapped Bhui in front of the wickets. He also added the scalp of Sai Kishore, who contributed a handy 16 off 19 balls.

At stumps on Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy 2023 final, all-rounder Washington Sundar was batting on 10 and Vijaykumar Vyshak on 1.

---

West Zone lose last three wickets cheaply on Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy 2023 final

Earlier in the day, West Zone resumed their first innings on 129/7, responding to South Zone’s total of 213. The batting side would have been keen to reduce the first-innings deficit as much as possible. However, West Zone lost their last three wickets for the addition of a mere 17 runs.

Kaverappa claimed all three wickets to fall to finish with excellent figures of 7/53 from 19 overs. He cleaned up Jadeja for 6 and then had Steth (12) and Nagwaswalla (0) caught behind off consecutive deliveries to bring the curtains down on West Zone’s first innings.