WZ vs SZ Prediction: Who will win today's Duleep Trophy 2023 final?

South Zone (SZ) and West Zone (WZ) are slated to lock horns in the blockbuster 2023 Duleep Trophy final at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The five-day match will start on July 12 at 9:30 am IST.

Both sides are set to make their third appearance in the Duleep Trophy final since 2013. At present, South Zone and West Zone have a win record of 1-1 in the final.

South Zone and West Zone were the finalists of the 2022-23 cricket season and automatically booked their berths in the Duleep Trophy semi-finals.

West Zone took on Central Zone on July 5 at Alur Cricket Ground. West Zone ended their first innings with a decent total of 220. Atit Sheth was the main contributor with the bat, scoring 74 (129), which involved nine fours and one six.

Shivam Mavi was the pick of the bowlers, achieving figures of 6/44 to restrict West to just 220. Decent contributions were made by other Central bowlers as well, who picked up a wicket each while keeping the flow of the runs down.

However, Central Zone faltered with their batting big time. They were dismissed for a paltry score of 128, which gave West Zone a healthy first-innings lead of 92 runs.

Arzan Nagwaswalla wreaked havoc with the ball, picking up 5/74, which decimated Central Zone’s batting lineup. Atit Sheth did his part with the ball as well, achieving figures of 3/27 in nine overs.

West Zone consolidated on their lead and piled up some crucial runs in the following days. Pujara smashed his way to an emphatic century, scoring 133 (278). He, along with Suryakumar Yadav, thwarted the feeble Central Zone bowling lineup and gave them a target of 390 to chase.

The target proved way beyond their reach and amidst multiple rain interruptions, the game ended in a draw and West Zone deservingly advanced to the final. Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Suryakumar Yadav are three key batters to watch out for from West Zone.

Shaw has averaged 73.2 in the last three games and is batting at an exhilarating stroke rate of just under 90. Pujara is certainly a force to reckon with, especially after his magnificent century. He is currently in red-hot form and is hungry to score more runs.

Yadav is also in fine form with the bat, averaging 45.83 while having a strike rate of close to 92. Atit Seth and Chintan Gaja have picked up 27 wickets in total in their last four games and averaged just around 30 with the ball.

South Zone experienced a rather close encounter with North Zone last Saturday. Nevertheless, they got over the line with just two wickets to spare. South Zone made a dream start with the ball, dismissing North for just 198.

Conditions were ideal for seam bowling and the South Zone pacers took full advantage of it. Vidwath Kaverappa bagged a five-wicket haul on the opening day of the match and was well assisted by Kodiramakrishna Venkata Sasikanth, who picked up 2/52 in his 10-over spell.

However, they failed to perform with the same intensity with the bat. Mayank Agarwal and Tilak Varma batted sensibly and played gritty innings of 76 (115) and 46 (101), respectively. With no major contributions from other batters, South Zone were bundled out three runs short of North Zone’s first-innings score.

The pacers again stepped up to the task and inflicted the bulk of the damage. South Zone quickie Vijaykumar Vyshak rose to the occasion and grabbed a sensational five-wicket haul of 5/76. Sai Kishore unleashed a spin web around North Zone batters, picking up 3/28 at a robust economy rate of 3.65 RPO.

In the second innings, South Zone’s top-order batters got a few runs under their belt. Mayank Agarwal raced to his half-century in 53 balls, whereas skipper Vihari made a well-composed 43 (42) before being dismissed by Rana in the 27th over.

However, the middle order experienced a dramatic collapse which reduced South Zone from 191-4 to 201-7 inside three overs. Sai Kishore stayed till the end and held his nerve to score the winning runs for his side.

Hanuma Vihari and Mayank Agarwal are the key batters in form, averaging 39.85 and 44.33, respectively. Sai Kishore and Vidwath Kaverappa demonstrated their worth with the ball, with the duo picking up 28 wickets in their last three outings.

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2023 Duleep Trophy Final: Can South Zone beat West Zone?

This is a clash between two evenly poised sides. They have been on top of their game so far as very little separates the two sides. They emerged as the top two teams from the 2022-23 season and have played some good all-round cricket in the 2023 Duleep Trophy semifinals.

South Zone beat West Zone in the 2013 Duleep trophy final. In 2022, West Zone made a comeback and knocked out South Zone in the 2022 Duleep trophy semifinals.

The two sides were also involved in skirmishes in the earlier editions of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Deodhar Trophy where they successfully registered victories against one another. It is thus almost impossible to predict an obvious winner.

But considering the recent performance of both sides in this year’s Duleep Trophy, South Zone appear to be a more battle-hardened side, especially after clinching a narrow two-wicket victory over North Zone.

Prediction: South Zone to win the Duleep Trophy final match.