The Duleep Trophy semi-final between North Zone and South Zone has sparked a debate about the spirit of cricket after a display of time-wasting tactics by North Zone. Despite their efforts, South Zone emerged victorious in the match.
The final 5.5 overs of the game took an astonishing 53 minutes to be completed, raising questions about the spirit of the game. Rain interrupted the match when South Zone was still 32 runs behind their target of 215 runs. The delay lasted almost 100 minutes, and when play was resumed, South Zone seemed eager to quickly complete their chase.
On the other hand, North Zone appeared to be intentionally slowing down the pace of the game by taking their time to adjust their fielders. The delay didn’t affect the outcome of the match, as South Zone comfortably chased down the target to secure their spot in the Duleep Trophy final.
North Zone captain Jayant Jadav strategically positioned his fielders near the boundary rope and constantly shuffled their positions with each delivery in the final session. This tactic frustrated the North Zone batters, and three of the last 5.5 overs took 10 minutes each to complete, while another over consumed 12 minutes and the remaining one took 7 minutes.
However, South Zone skipper Hanuma Vihari backed the delay tactics employed by North Zone, stating that he would have done the same thing if he were the captain of the fielding side. Vihari believes that delaying the game in the final overs can give the fielding team an advantage, even though some may argue that it goes against the spirit of the game.
In the match, North Zone scored 198 runs in their first innings, while South Zone managed 195 runs in response, thanks to contributions from Mayank Agarwal (76 runs) and Tilak Verma (46 runs). In the second innings, North Zone was bundled out for 211 runs, with South Zone pacer Vyshak Vijay Kumar taking a 5-wicket haul. During the chase, the South Zone batters remained composed and secured a 2-wicket victory.
In the Duleep Trophy final, South Zone will face off against West Zone on July 12 in Chennai. This match will surely be an exciting showdown between two strong teams.
