Duleep Trophy final, Day 1 | Bowlers help West Zone gain command over South Zone

West Zone bowlers restrict South Zone to 182/7 on Day 1 of Duleep Trophy final in Bengaluru. Hanuma Vihari (63) offers lone battle for South, West Zone pacers Arzan Nagwaswalla, Chintan Gaja & Atit Sheth maintain tight leash

The relentless West Zone bowlers left South Zone on a fragile terrain at 182 for seven on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final in Bengaluru on Wednesday (July 12).

Fielding by choice, West never let the advantage slip on a largely overcast day that was eventually called off a few minutes into the extended session due to poor light.

Captain Hanuma Vihari offered a lone battle while making 63 off 130 balls for South. But the conditions meant that single man heroics would not suffice.

Even though they were operating in a favourable space, West Zone pacers Arzan Nagwaswalla, Chintan Gaja and Atit Sheth should be lauded for maintaining a tight leash on South batting.

They moved the ball quite appreciably to keep Mayank Agarwal and R Samarth, the South openers, cautious.

The first wicket did not take long to come, though it was more the result of the batter’s callousness.

Samarth opted to cut Gaja’s short and wide delivery outside the off-stump and Harvik Desai, who replaced Het Patel, completed a simple catch behind the stumps.