Duleep Trophy 2019: Top 3 performers from the tournament

The 58th edition of Duleep Trophy began from 17th August 2019 and concluded with India Red clinching the trophy after they defeated the Indian Green side in a lop-sided final, which also turned out to be India Red’s second Duleep Trophy triumph.

The tournament featured three teams India Red, India Green and India Blue with all the three teams taking on each other in a league stage game during the round-robin stages either at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium or at the KSCA Cricket Ground in Alur. India Red and India Green, led by Priyank Panchal and Faiz Fazal respectively, faced off in the summit clash as the former registered a comfortable innings and 38-run win.

In a tournament that gave a platform for youngsters to shine, a couple of big match players such as Shubman Gill, Shreyas Gopal, Akshdeep Nath, Ishan Kishan and Karun Nair among other also made a mark with their performances.

Here are three players who impressed all through the 2019 edition of the Duleep Trophy.

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#3 Avesh Khan (India Red)

Avesh Khan (L) had a good tournament with bat and ball

Avesh Khan finished the tournament as the second highest wicket-taker in Duleep trophy 2019 as he picked up a total 11 wickets from three matches while turning out for India Red. However, what was most surprising was that Avesh made an impact with the bat as well, notching up 76 runs from three matches at a strike rate of 102.70.

In his side's first game against India Blue, Avesh picked up 4/58 to hand his side a crucial 30-run lead that gave them an upper hand. Against India Green, Avesh's figures read 2/66 from the game but his 56-ball 64 in the first innings with two fours and seven sixes helped his side to a thrilling one-run lead.

In the final, Avesh's 2/56 and 3/38 helped India Red restrict India Green to 231 first and then 119 as his side celebrated a massive win.

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#2 Akshay Wakhare (India Red)

Akshay Wakhare was in fine form

33-year-old bowling sensation from Maharashtra, Akshay Anil Wakhare emerged as the leading wicket-taker of Duleep Trophy 2019. Akshay was the prime member of the India Red squad which won the trophy, a major result of his magical five-wicket haul in the final. The spin bowler grabbed a 5-wicket-haul during India Green's second innings which sealed the match for his side.

He picked up 14 wickets from just three matches at an exceptional average of 14.36 which proved his worth as one of the upcoming spinners on the domestic scenario.

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#1 Karun Nair (India Red)

Karun Nair scored a total of 375 runs from 3 matches.

Karun Nair has been a star cricketer in the longest format of the game. His ability to build an innings at a steady rate has proved to be the main reason behind his success. The right-handed batsman smashed 375 runs from three matches which proved to be the shining light in India Red's campaign.

At the end of the tournament, Nair finished with an average of 125 and had two fifties and one century to his name, a scintillating 166* against India Green which gave him the impetus to do well for the rest of the tournament.

Nair's proficiency was such that the second highest run-scorer, India Red's Ankit Kalsi had just 201 runs to his name, 174 runs behind Nair. With form on his side, Nair could be in line for a comeback to the national side.