Chennai: Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar delivered a superb and clinical bowling display, sharing four wickets as the duo spearheaded a disciplined and incisive attack to push South Zone into deep trouble, leaving them at 242/6 at stumps while chasing a mammoth 708 and facing a daunting 466-run deficit on Day 3, Tuesday, September 8, in the Duleep Trophy final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
South Zone began their first innings on Day 3 under immense pressure, facing the daunting challenge of chasing a mammoth 708, but the Bengal duo of Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar piled on the pressure and pushed them into even deeper trouble. Mohammed Shami produced a stunning spell of 2/17, while Mukesh Kumar claimed impressive figures of 2/36, as the duo led a disciplined bowling attack with a superb display on the same pitch where the South Zone bowlers had struggled to find breakthroughs during East Zone’s first innings. South Zone managed only 242/6 after 80 overs despite Devdutt Padikkal’s fluent 62 off 104 balls and Tilak Varma’s unbeaten, hard-fought 56 off 133 balls, along with C. V. Milind. With only four wickets remaining and still facing a daunting 466-run deficit, South Zone find themselves staring at a steep uphill battle and will need a determined and resilient batting effort on Day 4 to avoid the follow-on.
Starting their first innings under massive pressure, South Zone suffered an early setback as Mukesh Kumar struck early, dismissing Ricky Bhui for just 1 off 18 balls. Devdutt Padikkal and Narayan Jagadeesan then steadied the innings, stitching together a crucial 60-run partnership off 80 balls for the second wicket before Shikhar Mohan dismissed Jagadeesan for 32 off 42 balls, leaving South Zone at 115/2 at lunch. Devdutt Padikkal and Shaik Rasheed looked to recover from the early setback as the duo stitched together a valuable 56-run partnership off 92 balls for the third wicket. Padikkal looked superb, combining composure with aggression as he handled the bowling attack with confidence and control. The left-hander brought up a fluent half-century off just 65 balls. However, the East Zone bowling attack soon took charge and tightened their grip on the match. Veteran pacer Mohammed Shami came into the attack and struck with a crucial breakthrough, dismissing Shaik Rasheed for 27 off 48 balls after trapping him lbw. As Tilak Varma joined Padikkal at the crease, Padikkal looked well set for a big score and continued to bat with great composure. However, Mukesh Kumar struck again, dismissing Padikkal for a fluent 62 off 104 balls, including four boundaries, bringing his promising innings to an end. Tilak Varma and Smaran Ravichander then batted with composure, putting together a valuable 45-run partnership off 110 balls before Shami struck again to dismiss Ravichander for 23 off 55 balls. South Zone were under pressure as they slipped to 175/5 by tea. With wickets continuing to fall, Tilak Varma took charge of the innings and found much-needed support from Shreyas Gopal at the other end. The duo stitched together a valuable 66-run partnership off 155 balls for the sixth wicket, providing crucial stability and helping South Zone steady their innings. Captain Tilak Varma battled hard and brought up his third consecutive fifty, reaching the milestone off 133 balls. However, the partnership that had offered South Zone some much-needed resistance finally came to an end in the final over of the day when Khaleel Qureshi dismissed Shreyas Gopal, who contributed a valuable 26 off 79 balls. Tilak Varma remained unbeaten on 56 off 133 balls, while C. V. Milind was unbeaten on 2 off 4 balls as South Zone finished Day 3 on 242/6. They still trail by a massive 466 runs and remain significantly short of the follow-on target, leaving East Zone firmly in control of the contest.
On Day 4, South Zone will be determined to add crucial runs and avoid the follow-on, while East Zone will look to make an early breakthrough, clean up the remaining wickets, and tighten their grip on the Duleep Trophy final.
