BENGALURU: The West Zone bowlers left South Zone in a spot of bother at 182 for seven on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final here on Wednesday. Fielding by choice, West never let the advantage slip on a largely overcast day, which was eventually called off a few minutes into the extended third session due to poor light.
South captain Hanuma Vihari (63 off 130 balls, 9 fours) and Tilak Varma (40 off 87 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) offered resistance, but good contributions from just two men were not enough in the conditions. Tilak and Vihari added 79 runs for the third-wicket alliance after South was reduced to 42 for two. West then picked up four wickets in the span of just 38 runs – 138 for three to 176 for seven – to stay on top of the match.
Even though they were operating in a favourable space, West pacers Arzan Nagwaswalla (2/45), Chintan Gaja (2/27) and Atit Sheth (1/47) should be lauded for maintaining a tight leash on the South batting.