West Zone skipper Priyank Panchal’s unbeaten 92 kept West Zone in the game as Duleep Trophy final is expected to head into a thrilling finish on Day 5 at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
Useful contributions from lower order
Earlier, starting the day at 181/7, Washington Sundar and Vyshak's 42-run partnership helped South Zone cross the 200-run mark. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja broke the partnership with Sundar's wicket. The all-rounder scored 37 runs from 75 balls including four fours. Then he ended Vyshak's stay at the crease. He had scored 23 runs from 77 balls. Tailender Vasuki Koushik got out for a six-ball duck as South Zone got all out for 230 and set a 298-run target for West Zone. Jadeja completed his fifer.
Big guns fail in run chase
In the run chase, Koushik struck early as he got through Prithvi Shaw's defense. Shaw scored just seven runs from 25 balls. Few overs left, Vyshak trapped Harvik Desai in front of the stumps. He scored just four runs from 19 deliveries. Cheteshwar Pujara started off well and shared a 47-run partnership with Panchal. But Koushik got the prized wicket of Pujara to push West Zone on the back foot. Pujara scored just 15 runs from 47 balls. In the same over, Koushik conceded a boundary but followed it up with the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav. West Zone were reduced to 79/4 in the 36th over. They needed a partnership to keep the run chase afloat.
Skipper leads the way
Sarfaraz Khan who has been out-of-touch of late stood up to the task. Panchal found the perfect partner in Sarfaraz. They shared a 98-run partnership for the fifth wicket to bring West Zone back in the game. Sarfaraz missed his half-century and got bowled by Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore. Sarfaraz scored 48 runs from 76 balls including five fours and one six. Atit Sheth faced just one ball before the stumps. Panchal remained unbeaten for 92 off 205 balls including 11 fours. Panchal also achieved a personal milestone as he completed 8,000 First-Class runs. The skipper needs support from lower-middle order and tailenders as West Zone start Day 5 at 182/5 and need 116 more runs to win the final.
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