Azharuddin-led South lose to Central Zone in Duleep Trophy final

Bengaluru: Central Zone survived some nervous moments to beat South Zone, led by Kerala wicketkeeper-batter Mohammed Azharuddeen, by six wickets and clinch the Duleep Trophy after a gap of 11 years on Monday.

South bowlers did admirably well in defending the modest target of 66 on a crumbling fifth-day track at the BCCI CoE grounds. But they did not have too many runs to play with and took only four wickets before the visitors romped home.

Akshay Wadkar (19 not out) and first-innings centurion Yash Rathod (13 not out) ensured Central went past the target at 66 for four in 20.3 overs to annex their seventh title in Duleep Trophy.

However, South can take heart from the fight they showed in the second innings (426) and with the ball in the final innings, delaying Central's walk to victory.

Left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma accounted for Danish Malewar (5) with a delivery that spun sharply and took the edge of the Central opener's bat en route to wicketkeeper Mohammed Azharuddeen.

He later added the wicket of Central captain Rajat Patidar, who played a hurried slog sweep to get caught at mid-on by MD Nidheesh.

Pacer Gurjapneet Singh, who earned an India A call on Sunday, picked up the scalps of Shubham Sharma and the promoted Saransh Jain, who was later adjudged player of the series, to create some anxious moments in the Central camp.

But players of the match Rathod and Wadkar steered Central home without further damage.

For Patidar, it was his second title this year after guiding Royal Challengers Bengaluru to victory in the IPL, and he was understandably delighted.

"Every captain likes winning trophies. But our players showed a lot of character across the tournament, and I am very happy about it.

"Here, the wicket was slightly dry, so we decided to bat first. I am pleased for Danish and Yash, they batted well here all the tournament," Patidar said during the post-match presentation ceremony.

South skipper Azharuddeen said reaching the final of the Duleep Trophy will work as a motivation for them in a long domestic season, which now enters the Ranji Trophy phase from October 15.

"We will get better from this experience, a long season ahead. Central spinners were hitting the right areas, and we made a few bad decisions as a batting unit as well. But we fought well in the second innings, and happy about that we did not give up easily," he said.