Chasing a mammoth target of 298, West Zone challenged the South Zone bowlers to post a mammoth 182 for five on the fourth day of the Duleep Trophy final here on Saturday, riding on a heroic innings from Priyank Panchal. They still need 116 more runs to retain their title, setting the stage for an exciting closing day.
In the first session, South, who were 181 for 7 in the night, were bowled out for 230 as left-arm spinner Dharmendra Jadeja took five wickets. But the hero of the day was the West Zone captain. Panchal, who scored 92 off 205 balls to complete 8000 runs in first-class cricket, kept West’s hopes alive on a struggling day.
Panchal and Sarfaraz Khan put on 98 runs for the fifth wicket, with Sarfaraz Khan playing a crucial role. Panchal has been one of the premier domestic batsmen over the last few seasons, and it was not too difficult to see why. He used his years of experience to frustrate the South’s bowlers for 315 minutes.
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The Gujarat batsman, who grabbed headlines after his 1310-run season in 2016-17, showed indomitable temperament despite wickets falling regularly at the other end. Panchal and Cheteshwar Pujara (15) showed the first glimpse of West’s fightback as they put on 57 off 125 balls for the third wicket.
They looked calm for most of the time, but fast bowler Vasuki Kaushik dismissed Pujara to end the growing partnership. A thick outside edge from the experienced batsman went to Tilak Verma at forward short leg.
Suryakumar Yadav continued his dismal run in this Duleep Trophy and got out for yet another low score.
The Mumbaikar didn’t give Kaushik a shot as the ball hit his pads and umpire Akshay Totre didn’t have to think long to raise his finger. At 79 for 4, West looked increasingly on the road to destruction and needed some persistence.
Panchal and Sarfaraz (48) provided exactly that. They batted together for 126 minutes and 157 balls as West began dreaming of a victory that at one point seemed impossible.
Sarfaraz was also very lucky. While on zero, he went out for a non-existent single and was sent back by Panchal. But Sachin Baby’s throw went over wicketkeeper Ricky Bhui’s head, allowing Sarfaraz to escape.
Vaishakh Vijayakumar resorted to the strategy of short-pitched ball which he adopted with good results in the first innings. But this time, both Panchal and Sarfaraz were better prepared to blunt him, even as Sarfaraz took a blow to his helmet.
Just when it seemed the pair would take the West to a safe finish, Sarfaraz lost to R Sai Kishore. The left-arm spinner pushed the ball a bit too high in the air and Sarfaraz played around it to be bowled. South will be relieved to see Sarfraz back but they still have a big task to complete.