Deodhar Trophy 2023 Final, Highlights: South Zone beats East Zone by 45 runs; Kunnummal stars with century

Wicket!! Full and wide, Mukhtar goes for a big shot, slashes at it and Washington Sundar completes a brilliant catch running in from square-leg!! South Zone add the Deodhar Trophy to their cabinet!!

South Zone has been the best team in this tournament and win a very deserved trophy! Rohan Kunnumal’s brilliant hundred set up a huge score in the afternoon and despite Riyan Parag and Kumar Kushagra’s valiant efforts, it has managed to get over the finish line in the final!

Vyshak into the attack. Continues with the wide yorker philosophy. South Zone bowlers hitting the line and length perfectly over the last two or three overs. Wicket!! Murasingh is caught behind. Tried to slash at a length ball, only manages a nick to the keeper.

M B Mura Singh 5(7) ct N Jagadeesan b V Vyshak

Wicket!! Shahbaz looks to loft it down the ground. Only manages to find Agarwal at long-off.

Shahbaz 17(21) ct Mayank Agarwal b V Vyshak

East Zone 283/9 in 46 overs

East Zone needs 46 runs from 24 balls

Kaverappa bowls it full and wide, Shahbaz hits it to long off and comes back for a quick two runs. Three wide yorkers in a row. Excellent bowling. Make that four dots. Five runs off the over.

East Zone need 55 runs from 30 balls

Rohit Rayudu is brought in. Concedes only five runs. Excellent over.

Washington to continue. Another tight over. Just five runs conceded.

East Zone needs 60 runs off 36 balls

Washington to continue. Six!! Kushagra deposits a fuller ball over the square leg fence for six! 250 up for East Zone!

Six!! Another huge six from Kushagra! Wicket!! Kushagra is devastated. Had already hit two sixes in the over. Went for a third and could only find long off. Could this be the game for South Zone?

Kumar Kushagra 68(58) ct K Rohit Rayudu b Washington Sundar

East Zone needs 70 runs from 48 balls.

Kaverappa into the attack. He has been expensive today. Will be hoping to get a breakthrough for his team at this crucial juncture.

East Zone needs 83 runs in 54 balls.

Six!! Kushagra deposits Sundar over the midwicket fence for six!! Fifty up for Kushagra.

Kushagra 54(51); Shahbaz 2(2)

East Zone 241/6 in 40 overs

East Zone need 88 runs in 60 balls

Wicket!! Parag has to go for 95! Played back to a Washington Sundar delivery and was trapped in front. He and Kushagra were threatening to take the game away from South Zone.

Riyan Parag 95(65) lbw Washington Sundar

East Zone 220/6 in 38 overs

East Zone need 107 runs to win.

Four!! Short from Vyshak, Kushagra pulls it past a diving midwicket fielder to the boundary. Kushagra finally getting a move on after striking at a rate of 50. Appeal!! Parag rapped on the pads by Vyshak. Umpire says no. South decide against the review.

Vyshak into the attack. Four!! Short from Vyshak, Parag pulls it over midwicket for a boundary. Six!! Short again and Parag pulls it even farther. What a shot!!

East Zone need 169 of 120 balls

Four!! Kaverappa goes short and Parag pulls it past fine leg for a four. Six!! Short again and this time he pulls it over midwicket for six! Parag gets to his fifty!

Four!! Kaverappa into the attack. Parag pulls a slightly shorter one through midwicket for four!

Sai Kishore continues. Four!! Gets Parag’s edge but it races past third man for a boundary.

East Zone need 198 runs of 138 balls

Wicket!! Gharami went for another sweep, can only manage a top-edge to the third man fielder. The partnership is broken.

Sudip Kumar Gharami 41(63) ct Washington Sundar b R Sai Kishore

East Zone 116/5 in 25 overs

False shot from Parag as he tries to loft Sai Kishore, but it falls well short of Kaverappa in the deep.

Chance!! Jagadeesan makes a mess of the stumping as the batter came down the track. How costly is this going to be? Four!! Excellent lofted cover drive from Parag, wasn’t that full too.

Huge appeal for LBW! Gharami was trapped in front after missing a sweep. Umpire says no and Mayank Agarwal decides against the review. Four!! Slightly short from Sai Kishore and Parag rocks onto the backfoot and punches it for four!

Gharami 34(49), Parag 13(12)

Four!! Down the leg side from Vyshak and Parag clips it past fine leg for a boundary.

Washington continues. Four!! Four byes as the batter tries a reverse sweep. Both the batter and the keeper misses it and it trickles down to the boundary.

East Zone need 243 off 32 overs

Dropped!! Gharami gets his pull shot horribly wrong and it goes straight up. Washington Sundar drops a sitter. Looks like he was put off by the light.

Four!! Great start to the over for East, a boundary off the first ball against Washington. Wicket!! What a catch at slip!! Tiwary went for a big shot on the off-side, edges and Arun Karthick takes a blinder at slip.

Saurabh Tiwary (c) c K B Arun Karthick b Washington Sundar 28(33)

East Zone 72/4 in 16 overs

Gharami mistimes a lofted shot, but it flies over mid-off and he survives. Good over from Vyshak.

Spin for the first time. Washington into the attack. Fifty partnership up between Tiwary and Gharami.

Vyshak into the attack. Four!! Short and wide and Tiwary cuts it to the boundary. Seven runs of the over.

Four!! Gharami comes down the track and lofts it straight down the ground for four more.

Gharami 18(23), Tiwary 25(23)

East Zone need 278 runs of 34 overs

Six!! In the slot, Tiwary bludgeons it straight down the ground for six!! Four!! Another hoick, doesn’t get it where he intended but still gets a boundary.

Four!! Slightly full from Koushik, Tiwary smacks it straight down the ground. Seven off the ever.

East Zone needs 283 runs from 40 overs

Maiden over from Kaverappa! Tiwary unable to find the gaps.

Four!! Gharami comes down the ground and lofts the last ball of the over down the ground. Was a good over until then.

Four!! Gharami flicks one to the square leg boundary for a boundary. Koushik finds the edge next ball but it flies harmlessly to third man.

Four!! Utkarsh gets off the mark by pulling a short one past mid-on for four! Wicket!! Kaverappa hits it straight to the catcher placed at short mid wicket. East Zone in trouble.

Utkarsh Singh c K Rohit Rayudu b Vidwath Kaverappa 4(16)

East Zone 14/3 in 5 overs

Four!! Full on the stumps and Virat lofts it over mid-on for a boundary. Kaverappa struggling with his lines in this over. Three wides already in the over.

Wicket!! Virat perishes to Koushik. Full and outside off, Virat looks to drive, nicks it straight to Jagadeesan.

Virat Singh c N Jagadeesan b Koushik V 6(7)

East Zone 10/2 in 4 overs

Wicket!!! Koushik gets a wicket of his first ball. Tried to drive the first ball, only manages an edge to slip.

Abhimanyu Easwaran c K B Arun Karthick b Koushik V 1(3)

Virat Singh at 3. He’s greeted by a few jaffas just outside off-stump.

East Zone 2/1 in 2 overs

Easwaran and Utkarsh at the crease. Vidwath Kaverappa with the new ball. Easwaran defends one to the leg-side to get the innings underway. Dropped!!! Kunnumal drops a sitter at point! Utkarsh gets a life.

Wicket!! Vyshak perishes trying to pull a short ball over the legside. Shahbaz was eerily close to the boundary but manages to hold on.

V Vyshak c Shahbaz b Akash Deep 11(7)

South Zone 328/8 in 50 overs.

Vyshak goes for a big hit. Easwaran makes a mess of an easy catch at mid-wicket. Six!! Vyshak punishes East Zone as he deposits the slower ball over the mid-wicket fence.

South Zone 323/7 in 49 overs

Wicket!! Jagadeesan tries to loft Murasingh over the long-on fence, the timing was off and it falls straight into the hands of the fielder.

N Jagadeesan (wk) c Sudip Kumar Gharami B M b Mura Singh 54(60)

South Zone 310/7 in 48.1 overs

A single from the first ball brings up 300 for South Zone. The team were looking set to cross 350, but the East spinners and the slow pitch have restricted them. Four!! Yorker attempted on leg stump, was a low full toss, Jagadeesan clips it past fine leg for a boundary.

South Zone 310/6 in 48 overs

Parag with his final over. Slightly wide, Jagadeesan rocks back and cuts to the off-side sweeper for a single. Four!! Sloppy fielding at the boundary leads to a boundary after Sai Kishore played a sweep. Three wides and 13 runs from the over.

Parag ends his ninth over. Has been a good spell from the offie. South haven’t been able to capitalise on the start.

Akash Deep into the attack. Had been expensive in his first spell. Four!! Was a good start to the over. Sai Kishore lofts a short of a length ball over the off-side for a four.

Jagadeesan 42(52), Sai Kishore 10(9)

Wicket!!! Leading edge for Washington and Parag takes an excellent catch at cover. The new batters finding it difficult to handle the slow nature of the surface.

Washington Sundar 0(2) ct Riyan Parag b Shahbaz

South Zone 268/6 in 43.3 overs

Six!! Short from Parag, Jagadeesan rocks back and pulls it over midwicket for six!! Wicket!! Arun Karthick looks for the big shot, trying to get the scoring rate up. Parag picks up the wicket!

K B Arun Karthick 2(5) ct Avinav Choudhury (Sub) b Riyan Parag

South Zone 267/5 in 43 overs

Wicket! Rayudu looks for the sweep, can only mistime it straight to short fine leg. Captain Tiwary takes a good catch.

K Rohit Rayudu c Tiwary b Shahbaz 26(33)

South Zone 256/4 in 41.3 overs

Six!! Signs of intent as Rayudu tonks Utkarsh straight down the ground for a six! Five singles to end the over. 11 runs off the over. Utkarsh completes his spell.

Jagadeesan 27(41); Rayudu 25(31)

Change of bowling as Shahbaz is brought into the attack. Six singles from the over. End of the second powerplay.

Utkarsh and Parag continue their choke. Not a considerable amount of turn, but the duo have maintained their line and length expertly to ensure no boundaries are scored.

Jagadeesan 21(32); Rayudu 12(22)

Appeal!! Rayudu misses the sweep and is rapped on the pads. Umpire says no. East Zone review!! Ball tracking shows its missing the stumps. The replays show that it bounced over the stumps. Parag is amused! The pitch has not been the most bouncy.

Just four from the Utkarsh over. He has been the best bowler on display. His two wickets have brought down the run-rate considerably.

Parag continues from the other end. Jagadeesan and Rohit Rayudu content to rotate strike in these middle overs. Enough firepower to give the team a final push in the last overs.

Four!! Short from Utkarsh, Sudharshan goes on the backfoot and pulls it to the mid-wicket boundary. Four!! Straighter line but Sudharsan rocks back and drives it through the covers for another four.

Wicket!! A faint edge as Sudharsan tries another backfoot punch. Kushagra with a good catch behind the wicket!!

Sai Sudharsan c Kumar Kushagra b Riyan Parag 19(20)

South Zone 212/3 in 31.1 overs

A quick single brings up the 200 for South Zone. The two Tamil Nadu batters will be looking to stitch-up a partnership to take the team to a huge first innings score.

Sudharsan and Jagadeesan taking their time against the spin attack of East Zone. Two quick wickets have jolted South Zone’s run rate. Four!! Slightly short and wide from Utkarsh, Jagadeesan cuts it past third man for a boundary.

Chance!! Agarwal tries to cut a wide ball, the third man fielder completely misjudges it and it falls just short if him. How costly will this be?

Wicket!! Utkarsh gets his second. What a day for him! Was short and Agarwal wanted to pull, but manages to give an easy catch to the mid-wicket fielder.

Mayank Agarwal (c) c A R Easwaran b Utkarsh Singh 63(83)

South Zone 184/2 in 26.2 overs

Wicket!! Utkarsh gets the breakthrough. Kunnumal was looking for another big shot but mistimed the lofted shot straight to the fielder at long-off. Sai Sudharsan in at 3.

Rohan Kunnummal c Shahbaz b Utkarsh Singh 107(75)

Four!! Utkarsh Singh into the attack. Slightly short from the part-timer, Agarwal pulls it to the square-leg boundary on one knee.

Akash Deep keeps it tight as only four singles have been scored off the over.

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Kunnummal puts blips of 2022-23 season, IPL snub behind with fresh start in Deodhar Trophy

Featuring in his first tournament in six months, Rohan Kunnummal has led the batting charts for South Zone along side captain, Mayank Agarwal in the Deodhar Trophy.

Four!! Full and wide from Parag, Kunnumal brings out the lofted cover drive. Six!! Kunnumal brings up his hundred!! Came down the track and lifted a full ball straight back over the bowler for six!! What an innings in the final from the Kerala opener.

South Zone 165/0 in 21 overs

An assured fifty from Mayank Agarwal!! With Kunnumal tonking the bowlers, Agarwal has played smart, rotating strike at will and ensuring the scoreboard keeps ticking.

Four!! Akash Deep into the attack and he is greeted with a flowing lofted cover drive by Kunnumal. Good comeback from the bowler after the boundary but he oversteps and South have a free-hit. A couple from the free-hit as Mayank lifts a short and wide one over the infield on the off-side.

South Zone 150 in 20 overs

Riyan Parag into the attack. Four!! Full and straight, driven down the ground with ease to the boundary.

Six!! Kunnumal comes down the track and lofts it straight back over the bowlers head for six. Shahbaz follows it up with a quicker ball but it’s called a no-ball. Six!! Slightly wide, but Kunnumal adjusts after coming down the track and hits the free-hit over long-off for another six.

Another sedate over from East Zone. Only four runs off it. Good line and length from the bolwer and the batters not risking it. Drinks!!

Six runs from Shahbaz’s over. South batters using the field to full effect, finding the gaps to rotate strike with ease.

Appeal for LBW and the umpire says no. Agarwal missed the sweep and was struck on the pads. East Zone review! Ball-tracking shows that it would miss the stumps. Close call for the captain.

Murasingh is back into the attack. Four!! Kunnumal lofts one over mid-on again and gets another boundary. 100 partnership between the South openers in just 13 overs.

South Zone 100/0 in 13 overs.

Four!! Short and wide from Mukhtar, Kunnumal cuts it over backward point, on his toes, and brings up another boundary.

Time for spin as Shahbaz is introduced. A quiet over compared the others. Five runs from it.

Quiet over from Mukhtar after all the flurry of boundaries. Just 3 runs from it.

Chance!! Akash Deep hits the deck and Kunnumal tries to loft it over mid-off, Parag made ground but can’t hold on. A reprieve for Kunnumal. Four!! Kunnumal cuts a similar delivery through backward point for a boundary. Four!! Shorter in length, Kunnumal pulls past mid=on for another four. Brings up his fifty of just 33 balls!

South Zone 79/0 in 10 overs.

Four!! Full and Kunnumal goes down the ground again. Not the best connection but enough to get to the boundary. Another full ball, and a drive down the ground brings up the fifty partnership between the pair.

Four!! Akash Deep manages to find the edge but it runs through to the boundary. Everything going South Zone’s way. Four!! Shorter in length, pulled over midwicket for a boundary.

Four!! Slightly wide from Murasingh, Agarwal pierces the off-side field and sends the ball to the boudary. Six runs from the over.

Akash Deep into the attack. Four!! Down the leg-side from Akash Deep, clips Agarwal’s pads on the way to the boundary and it is called a no-ball as well. Just a single off the free-hit.

Four!! Full on the stumps, Kunnumal picks it up over square leg for a boundary. Six!! Full and wide outside off this time, Kunnumal lofts it down the ground for a six!! Kunnumal being aggresive after a sedate third over.

Four!! Short and wide from Hussain first ball, Kunnumal cuts it through the off-side for the first boundary of the innings. Stifled appeal from the bowler after Agarwal is hit on the pad, was going down leg.

Murasingh with the new ball. Kunnumal and Agarwal at the crease. Short on the body, Kummunal turns it to fine leg for a single. A steady first over from both the teams, five runs off it.

East Zone: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Utkarsh Singh, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Virat Singh, Riyan Parag, Saurabh Tiwary (C), Kumar Kushagra (WK), Shahbaz, M B Murasingh, Mukhtar Hussain, Akash Deep

South Zone: Rohan Kunnumal, Mayank Agarwal (C), Sai Sudharsan, N Jagadeesan (WK), K B Arun Karthick, Rohit Rayudu, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, V Vyshak, V Koushik, Vidwath Kaverappa

A slight chance of rain towards the end of the game!

Credit - Accuweather

South Zone has won the toss and elected to bat first.

The final of the 2023 Deodhar Trophy between South Zone and East Zone is set to take place at the Siechem stadium in Pondicherry.

The match will begin at 1:30pm IST.

Live streaming of the match is available on the BCCI website. Follow Sportstar’s live blog for scores and match updates.

South Zone, having won the Duleep Trophy last month, will look to do the double when it takes on East Zone in the final of the Deodhar Trophy at the Siechem Stadium on Thursday.

The Mayank Agarwal-led South Zone side has been the standout team in the competition, having won all its five league matches. With all its bases covered, the team has looked formidable and clinical in how it has gone about its work.

Skipper Agarwal has led with the bat, scoring three-half centuries, while his fellow opener Rohan Kunnumal has given the side quick starts with his aggressive approach in the PowerPlay. Sai Sudharsan joined the team for the last two matches and has hit the ground running with a half-century and an unbeaten ton to solidify a good top-order.

What makes the team so dangerous is its relentless bowling attack with the Karnataka pace trio of V. Kaverappa, V. Kousik and V. Vyshak, who have given the side early breakthroughs. Kaverappa, in particular, has been impressive with the new ball using his pace and height to extract good bounce.

Complementing the troika of pacers are the Tamil Nadu spinners R. Sai Kishore and Washington Sundar, who choke the runs during the middle phase of the match with their metronomic consistency.

- Dipak Ragav

Read the full preview: Unbeaten South meets in-form East in final

Stay tuned for Sportstar’s live updates from the Deodhar Trophy Final between South Zone and East Zone at Siechem stadium in Pondicherry.