South Zone, having won the Duleep Trophy last month, will look to do the double when it takes on East Zone in the final of the Deodhar Trophy at the Siechem Stadium on Thursday.
The Mayank Agarwal-led South Zone has been the standout team in the competition, having won all its five league matches. With all its bases covered, the side has looked formidable and clinical in how it has gone about its work.
Skipper Mayank has led with the bat, scoring three-half centuries, while his fellow-opener Rohan Kunnumal has given the side quick starts with his aggressive approach in the PowerPlay. Sai Sudharsan joined the team for the last two matches and has hit the ground running with a half-century and an unbeaten ton to solidify a good top order.
“For me, the most satisfying is the kind of intensity and hunger everyone has shown. That is reflected in our performances on the field. It will be special if we can do the double but we are not thinking too much about it. We have laid out our plans and set out what to do and credit to everybody in the team, they have gone out and executed that ”Mayank Agarwal South Zone skipper
What makes the team so dangerous is its relentless bowling attack. The Karnataka pace trio of V. Kaverappa, V. Kousik and V. Vyshak has given the side early breakthroughs regularly. Kaverappa, in particular, has been impressive with the new ball, using his pace and height to extract good bounce.
Complementing the troika of pacers are the Tamil Nadu spinners R. Sai Kishore and Washington Sundar, who have choked the runs during the middle phase of the match with their metronomic consistency. If there are any chinks in the team, it is the fact that it has not been tested or put under pressure except for the game against West Zone. It is what the East Zone team will look to prey upon.
The Saurabh Tiwary-led side has a similar balance with three quicks (Akash Deep, Mura Singh and Mukhtar Hussain) and a good spin attack in Shahbaz Ahmed and Riyan Parag.
“I don’t think it’ll be sensible to write us off. Players are in good touch. You can not say that we are overdependent on anyone across departments. We had different match-winners and multiple players who performed when it mattered. That’s why I also believe our team is dangerous because you can’t predict who will go on and take the match from the opponent”Saurabh Tiwary East Zone captain
However, the batting will be a concern for East as the team has lost wickets in a cluster in a few games and it has had to rely on Parag’s sensational hundreds to reach the summit clash.
Parag has shown remarkable consistency in the tournament, and if he can deliver on the big stage, it could put South off its tracks for the first time.
