Duleep Trophy 2023 semi-finals, Day 2 round-up: Nagwaswalla 5-fer, Pujara, Suryakumar fifties lift West Zone

West Zone dominated Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy 2023 semi-final 1 against Central Zone on Thursday to put themselves in a strong position by stumps. At the close of play at the KSCA Cricket Ground in Alur, they were 149/3 in their second innings, having gained a significant lead of 241.

West Zone resumed their first innings on 216/8 but lost their last two wickets for the addition of only four runs. Shivam Mavi claimed both wickets to fall to finish with figures of 6/44. However, Arzan Nagwaswalla (5/74) led West Zone’s fightback with the ball as Central Zone were bundled out for 128 in 31.3 overs.

Nagwaswalla struck early, cleaning up Vivek Singh for 2. Chintan Gaja (2/25) chipped in by dismissing the other opener, Himanshu Mantri, for 4. He also bowled Amandeep Khare (4) to leave Central Zone tottering at 26/3. Dhruv Jurel looked good for his 46, but he was trapped lbw by Nagwaswalla.

The left-arm pacer from Gujarat added the scalps of Upendra Yadav (5) and Saransh Jain (3) to put West Zone on top in the contest. Atit Sheth (3/27) chipped in with three lower-order wickets before Nagwaswalla ended Rinku Singh’s resistance for 48 to complete his five-fer.

In their second innings in the Duleep Trophy 2023 semi-final, West Zone openers added 36 runs. Prithvi Shaw, however, was bowled by Yash Thakur for 25, while Saurabh Kumar cleaned up West Zone captain Priyank Panchal for 15.

A third-wicket stand of 95 between Cheteshwar Pujara (50* off 103) and Suryakumar Yadav (52 off 58) put West Zone in a dominating position. Suryakumar struck eight fours and a six before perishing to Kumar.

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North Zone bowl out South Zone for 195 in Duleep Trophy 2023 semi-final 2

On Day 2 of the second Duleep Trophy 2023 semi-final at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, North Zone bowled out South Zone for 195 and reached 51/2 by stumps in their second innings.

On a rain-affected day, South Zone resumed their first innings on 63/4. Vaibhav Arora (3/57) and Jayant Yadav (3/38) starred with the ball as North Zone gained a slender three-run lead. Mayank Agarwal, who was unbeaten on 37 overnight, went on to score an impressive 76, adding 110 for the fifth wicket with Tilak Varma (46).

The partnership was broken when Yadav dismissed Agarwal. The South Zone opener’s fine knock featured 10 fours. Yadav also dismissed Washington Sundar (12) cheaply, while Arora accounted for Varma four short of his fifty. Sai Kishore scored 21 before being stumped off Yadav, but there was not much resistance from the other lower-order batters.

South Zone began well in their second innings with the ball as Vijaykumar Vyshak cleaned up Dhruv Shorey (5), while Vidwath Kaverappa knocked over Prashant Chopra (19).

At stumps on Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy 2023 semi-final, Ankit Kalsi was batting on 21 and Prabhsimran Singh on 6. The game is finely balanced, with North Zone having a lead of 54 runs.