Riyan Parag's gutsy 65-ball 85 went in vain as Mayank Agarwal-led South Zone beat East Zone by 45 runs to win Deodhar Trophy title after 21 years. Rohan Kunnummal's 75-ball 107, and Agarwal's half-century followed by a clinical bowling display helped South Zone continue their unbeaten run in the tournament and win their ninth title in tournament's history.
Big partnership
Earlier, Agarwal won the toss and opted to bat first. East Zone bowlers toiled hard under the sun as Kunnummal and Agarwal shared a 181-run opening partnership. Kunnummal took the attacking route whereas Agarwal played the anchor's role. It was Utkarsh Singh who broke the partnership. Knnummal scored 107 runs from 75 balls including 11 fours and four sixes. In Utkarsh's next over, he got the wicket of Agarwal as well who scored 63 runs from 83 balls including four fours.
Challenging total
Sai Sudharsan (19) and Rohit Rayudu (26) got off to good starts but lost their wickets to Parag and Shahbaz Ahmed respectively. Parag and Ahmed then got rid of Arun Karthik and Washington Sundar respectively to help East Zone make a comeback. However, wicketkeeper-batter N Jagadeesan contributed with a 60-ball 54 to take the score past 300. Sai Kishore and Vijaykumar Vyshak's cameos helped South Zone post 328/8.
Top-order failure
East Zone's top-order batters were not ready for the challenge. Vasuki Koushik got the wickets of Abhimanyu Easwaran and Virat Singh whereas Vidwath Kaverappa got rid of Utkarsh. None of the top-order batters scored in double digits as East Zone were reduced to 14/3 in five overs. Sudip Kumar Gharami and skipper Saurabh Tiwary tried to steady the ship but fell to spinners Kishore and Sundar respectively. East Zone were struggling for 115/5 in the 25th over.
Parag-Kushagra’s fightback not enough
Parag and Kumar Kushagra's partnership revived East Zone's run chase. Parag attacked and did not hold back against spinners hitting them for monstrous sixes. Kushagra found boundaries as well. But Parag missed his century and became Sundar's second victim of the night. He got out lbw. The youngster scored 95 runs from 65 balls including eight fours and three sixes. A few overs later, Kushagra lost his wicket to Sundar as well. Vyshak struck twice whereas Kaverappa took the last wicket to bowl out East Zone for 283 in 46.1 overs.
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