Follow UsPrithvi Shaw looked determined to a fault. After failing to inspire confidence in the semi-final against Central Zone, where the moving ball created considerable concern for him, he was in the zone to take on South Zone in the final. In response to the 213 posted by South, Shaw played some gorgeous shots around the Chinnaswamy Stadium, but the lack of support from the fabled batting order meant West ended second day 84 runs behind South’s first innings total, with no recognizable batter left for Day 3.
Like Day 1, rain also played a significant role in stopping play on Day 2, but Vidhwath Kaverappa was accurate to a fault. Carrying on the confidence borne out of the five-wicket haul in the semifinal, Kaverappa managed to move the ball around. With Cheteshwar Pujara dropping down one position in the batting order to accommodate Harvik Desai, South found a new lease of life. Shaw was consistent from one end, but Pujara, Suryakumar Yadav, and Sarfaraz Khan, batting out of position, couldn’t even cross the 10-run mark.
From 97/1, suddenly West found themselves reduced to 124-7 in no time, and the prime wrecker in chief was Kaverappa. The Karnataka pacer found able support from his state mate Vijaykumar Vyshak as the duo put a lid on the run-scoring opportunities to ensure that South is in a dominant position to secure their first Duleep Trophy title since the 2010-11 season.
Earlier in the day, South resumed from 182/7 but could only add 31 runs to the total to be bundled out for 213. Only Hanuma Vihari managed a half-century, but things had been pretty engrossing otherwise as far as the bowling impact from both sides is concerned.