Openers put South side in command after strong start on day two
KL Rahul scored an unbeaten 168 runs to put South zone side in strong position after day two of the final of Duleep Trophy
New Delhi: What the Central Zone batsmen could not do on the opening day, South Zone did in laying the foundation for a sizeable score on Day Two of the Duleep Trophy final at the Kotla here on Thursday. Having dismissed Central for 276, South were sitting pretty on 308/4 at draw of stumps — and the prospect of an outright win to boot. Karnataka openers K.L. Rahul and Robin Uthappa gave South the perfect start with a 168-run opening stand but it was the former’s extended stay at the crease that would have given watching national selectors Vikram Rathour and Saba Karim something to chew over.
At close, Rahul was batting on a 205-ball 168 and had hit 18 boundaries and two sixes. With much of the selectorial attention focused on Mumbai’s Bradbourne Stadium where Rohit Sharma and Manish Pandey took hundreds off the Sri Lanka XI attack, it was a reminder from the 22-year-old that they look his way as well. Another fringe performer to stand out was gangling Central Zone and Rajasthan medium-pacer Pankaj Singh, who took three of the four South wickets —in an eight-ball burst to end the day on 3/55.
Central were bundled out this morning — their innings ending in exactly a hundred overs. Rahul, who scored in excess of 1,000 runs in the last Ranji Trophy season, rode out the early tests, saw off the resurgent Pankaj Singh in the middle and then cashed in on the unthreatening stuff that came his way with a display of pleasing and flowing batsmanship. Uthappa missed an opportunity to impress as well though his brisk 80 gave South the ideal start.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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