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Mayank Agarwal and Sai Sudharsan starred with the bat as South Zone extended their unbeaten streak in the Deodhar Trophy, registering a convincing five-wicket victory over East Zone in a round-robin match on Sunday. In the other game in Puducherry, Shivam Chaudhary and Yash Dubey showcased excellent batting performances, while the spinners took centre stage with the ball as Central Zone secured an eight-wicket win over North-East Zone
The key to South Zone's successful chase of 230 runs was a stellar 118-run partnership for the second wicket between Agarwal, who scored a composed 84, and Sudharsan, who contributed a swift 53. Their partnership was peppered with 10 fours and two sixes. Agarwal's innings included six boundaries and a six off 88 balls, while Sudharsan hit four boundaries and cleared the ropes once in his 57-ball stay.
Following their dismissals, N Jagadeesan (32) and Rohit Rayudu (24) maintained the momentum of the chase, steering South Zone to the target in 44.2 overs.
The South Zone bowlers also played a crucial role in the victory. The seam-bowling trio of V Koushik (3/37), Vidhwath Kaverappa (2/40), and Vijaykumar Vyshak (1/62) combined to claim six wickets, while spinners Sai Kishore (3/45) and Washington Sundar (1/41) accounted for four more.
The victory consolidated South Zone's position at the top of the points table with four wins from four matches, while East Zone remains in the second spot with three wins from four encounters.
Meanwhile, Shivam Chaudhary and Yash Dubey showcased excellent batting performances as the spinners took centre stage with the ball to help Central Zone secure an eight-wicket win over North East Zone.
Electing to field first, Central Zone bowled out North Zone for a meagre 164 runs in 49 overs. The chase was then comfortably completed in 33 overs, predominantly thanks to a dominant 153-run partnership for the second wicket between Chaudhary (85) and Dubey (72).
In his 90-ball innings, Chaudhary hammered seven fours and two sixes, while Dubey's 72 off 91 balls featured seven boundaries and one six.
This victory marked Central Zone's first win in the tournament after four games, lifting them to the fourth position in the six-team standings. North Zone, with just one win and two losses, are currently in fifth place.
North Zone's batting lineup struggled right from the start after being put into bat, finding themselves in a precarious position at 17 for two in just 6 overs. The Central Zone spin quartet of Aditya Sarwate (3/19), Saransh Jain (2/39), Yash Kothari (2/4), and Karn Sharma (1/34) then took control of the proceedings, combining to claim eight wickets. Shivam Mavi (1/19) and Yash Thakur (1/15) also contributed to the team's bowling performance.
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(With PTI Inputs)
