Duleep Trophy Final: After big guns fail, young Patel rescues West with fighting 96

PTI

Coimbatore, September 21

West Zone’s batting stars, including former India captain Ajinkya Rahane, flattered to deceive as South Zone restricted them to 250/8 on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final here today.

It was the young wicketkeeper Het Patel (96 not out) who helped West recover from a precarious 167/8. Coming into bat at 64/4, the 23-year-old from Gujarat stayed in a positive mind-set despite wickets falling at the other end — he scored at a rate of over 50. Patel shared an 83-run stand for the ninth wicket with Saurashtra veteran Jaydev Unadkat (39 not out).

However, West Zone’s top-five failed to make a mark. Both the openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal (1) and current India A captain Priyank Panchal (7), and No. 3 Rahane (8) fell early, with West Zone 16/3. South Zone’s Pacers Basil Thampi (2/42 in 15 overs) and CV Stephen (2/39 in 10 overs) blew away the West top-order within the first half-an-hour. Shreyas Iyer (37) and Sarfaraz Khan (34) steadied the ship, but both failed to convert their starts into big scores. In-form left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore (3/80 in 32 overs) dismissed both the set batters.

Brief scores: West Zone 250/8 (Patel 96*, Unadkat 39*; Kishore 3/80, Thampi 2/42, Stephen 2/39).

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