Follow UsWith the ball moving under the skies, batters found it extremely tough to negotiate the new ball burst from Arzan Nagwaswalla and Chintan Gaja. So fierce were the duo that South Zone could have been forgiven for being bundled out on the first day itself, but credit to Hanuma Vihari, who displayed remarkable determination to guide his side to a respectable total of 182/7 by the end of Day 1.
When Chintan Gaja dismissed R Samarth, it became evident that the South Zone team were facing an uphill battle. Mayank Agarwal partnered with Tilak Varma and offered some resistance, but Hanuma Vihari's steady presence at the crease provided a sense of assurance for the home team. Vihari forged a crucial 79-run partnership with Varma, but the latter's dismissal introduced a wave of uncertainty into South's innings.
The subsequent batting collapse was nothing short of dramatic, as none of the following batters managed to surpass the 10-run mark. As anticipated, rainfall arrived shortly after the Tea Break, resulting in only 65 overs bowled throughout the day despite the players' valiant efforts.
With Washington Sundar still at the crease, South Zone will be hoping to push their overall score beyond 250 runs in order to salvage some sanity from the match.