Unsurprisingly, the unbeaten team South Zone won the Deodhar Trophy 2023 title. In the Final of the tournament, South Zone beat East Zone by 45 runs.
(Deodhar Trophy 2023 Final) South Zone vs East Zone: 1st innings — Rohan Kunnummal smashed a century, Mayank Agarwal and Narayan Jagadeesan scored 50s
The unbeaten side of the Deodhar Trophy 2023, South Zone, chose to bat first in the tournament Final on Thursday (3 August). Openers Rohan Kunnummal and the skipper Mayank Agarwal provided a solid start with a big 150+ runs partnership.
Rohan and Mayank set up the 181-run partnership for the first wicket. While the skipper Mayank scored 63 runs in 83 balls (four fours), Rohan smashed 107 runs in 75 balls with the help of 11 fours and four sixes.
While both the set openers were dismissed inside 10 balls, the wicketkeeper-batter Narayan Jagadeesan scored another important 54 runs in 60 balls (two fours and one six). Also, Rohit Rayudu (26) and Sai Kishore (24*) had some vital contributions with the bats as South Zone scored 328/8 in 50 overs.
Among the East Zone bowlers, Utkarsh Singh (2/50), Shahbaz Ahmed (2/55), and Riyan Parag (2/68) got two wickets each.
(Deodhar Trophy 2023 Final) South Zone vs East Zone: 2nd innings — Riyan Parag and Kumar Kushagra’s fights weren’t enough
Chasing down the target, East Zone had a struggling start with 14/3. Then Sudip Kumar Gharami (41) and captain Saurabh Tiwary (28) fought to handle the early pressure. Riyan Parag and Kumar Kushagra, who recorded India’s highest List A sixth wicket partnership during this competition, had another 105-run partnership for the sixth wicket in the Final.
But once that partnership was broken, where Riyan was dismissed for 95 runs off 65 balls (eight fours and five sixes), South Zone smelled the trophy. Kushagra scored 68 runs in 58 balls (six fours and three sixes), but it wasn’t enough for them as East Zone were all out for 283 runs in 46.1 overs.
Among the South Zone bowlers, Washington Sundar (3/60) got three wickets, while Vidwath Kaverappa (2/61), Vasuki Koushik (2/49) and Vijaykumar Vyshak (2/59) picked up two wickets each.
Rohan Kunnummal won the Player of the Match for his centurion knock in the Deodhar Trophy Final. Meanwhile, East Zone star Riyan Parag won the Player of the Tournament award for his excellent all-round performances (scored 354 runs and took 11 wickets).
Before the Final of the Deodhar Trophy 2023, South Zone won all five matches in the league stage, while East Zone won four games and lost only against South Zone.
Last month, South Zone also won the Duleep Trophy 2023 after beating West Zone in the Final.
