Follow UsBengaluru and afternoon rain is a story that can never be discounted, especially in late June. Like the Ranji Trophy knockout phase of the 2021-22 season, the curtain raiser for the 2022-23 season, Duleep Trophy was off to a rainy start, with the last session of Day 2 for the quarter-final match between East Zone and Central Zone being washed out entirely.
The persistent rain that arrived after 2 PM was so extreme that within minutes, you knew that no Super Sopper would be enough even if rain were subsidized. But the fact that Central Zone found a complete grip in the game almost confirm their berth in the semi-finals, in which the winner will take on West Zone, a mere formality.
It was a collective effort from the Central bowlers, with spinner Saurabh Kumar and Avesh Khan grabbing three wickets each to build pressure over Abhimanyu Easwaran's men. Despite a late burst from M B Mura Singh, who scored a quickfire unbeaten 30 runs, wickets kept falling at the other end, handing Central Zone a lead of 60 runs in the first innings.
After bowlers dominated the proceedings in the first four sessions, Central Zone openers Vivek Singh and Himanshu Mantri decisively turned the game in their favour with an unbeaten opening partnership of 64 runs, effectively taking the lead to 122 runs at the conclusion of Day 2. The star of the first innings, Murasingh from Tripura, was nullified by the CZ openers, but Akash Deep kept a probing line to test the duo.
So much so that run-scoring became a really tedious affair, but it was not until Abhimanyu Easwaran threw the ball to Ishan Porel that the batters found themselves under a sticky wicket. A peach of a delivery from Porel nipped back to kiss the top of off-stump, leaving Mantri speechless, but it turned out to be a No Ball. It was a one-way street from thereon before the rain arrived and the umpires decided to call it off later.
Picture Credits: Lalith Kalidas