Ajinkya Rahane made a case for his return to Test cricket with an unbeaten 207 in the Duleep Trophy 2022 clash. Not just the West Zone skipper Rahane but young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed his career-best 228 against an inexperienced North East Zone bowling lineup at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
After a rain affected Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy clash, West Zone openers piled on runs on Day 2. From an overnight score of 61, opener Prithvi Shaw continued to score freely. Soon enough, he got to his half-century. Shaw scored 113 runs from 121 deliveries in his attacking knock which included 11 fours and five sixes.
Shaw lost his wicket to Ankur Malik. He shared a 206-run opening partnership with Jaiswal. Rahane walked in to bat in the 44th over. Soon enough Jaiswal got to his fourth First-Class century. The two batters dominated in the middle and frustrated North East Zone bowlers. They scored with a healthy strike rate as well. Jaiswal got to his maiden double ton in the last session. He scored 228 runs from 321 deliveries including 22 fours and three sixes. Rongsen Jonathan broke the second-wicket partnership in the 112th over. They shared a 333-run partnership for the second wicket.
Skipper Rahane got to his double ton few overs before the end of day's play. Rahul Tripathi joined him in the middle and remained not out for 25 from 38 deliveries. Rahane's knock included 18 fours and six sixes. On Day 3, Rahane will have a chance to register his highest T20I score. Currently, his best is 265 not out.
At the end of the day, West Zone had a mammoth total of 590/2 on the board after 123 overs. With a score this big on the board, Rahane-led West Zone have one foot in the semi-final.
Even though North East Zone don’t have a potent bowling attack, Rahane has got a much-needed big knock under his belt. His last Test appearance was in South Africa earlier this year. He was dropped from the Test squad along with Cheteshwar Pujara. While Pujara made a comeback to the Test side after consistent run in County Championship, Rahane did not bang on selectors doors with big runs.
