Hundreds by Patidar, Rathod give clear edge to Central over South in Duleep Trophy

Bengaluru, Sep 12 (PTI) Skipper Rajat Patidar and Yash Rathod exploited the lack of spin bowling options in South Zone ranks to craft easy-on-the-eye hundreds, taking Central Zone to a commanding 384 for five on Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy final here on Friday.

Central now enjoy a strong innings lead of 235 runs after Patidar (101, 115 balls) and Rathod (137 batting, 188b) scored their 15th and 7th first-class centuries respectively.

Saransh Jain (47 batting) was giving company to Rathod at stumps.

Before Patidar and Rathod milked 167 runs for the fourth wicket to take the match decisively away from South, the former were in some trouble at 93 for three.

Overnight 50 for no loss, Central added 102 runs in the first session but lost openers Danish Malewar (53), Akshay Wadkar (22) and Shubham Sharma (6) in quick succession.

Pacer Gurjapneet Singh (3/74) was the pick of bowlers in that session, jagging the ball around under grey skies to beat the batters often.

In the morning session he was rewarded with the wickets of Malewar and Shubham, while fellow quick Vasuki Koushik accounted for Wadkar, who inexplicably shouldered arms to a delivery on the off-stump.

But the pitch and conditions eased out in the second and third sessions, benefitting Patidar and Rathod. Patidar took Central past South Zone's first innings total of 148, when he swept leg-spinner Ricky Bhui for boundary.

Once the primary target of first innings lead was achieved, Patidar and Rathod shifted gears to add 124 runs in the post-lunch session.

Patidar was the enforcer as he played some delightful shots around the ground, and punished Bhui with a sequence of 4, 6, 4, but even those beefy hits carried his inherent elegance.

Soon, he smoked Gurjapneet for a four and six off successive balls to move into the 90s, and the hundred came without much delay with a single off left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma.

Patidar's 50 came in 73 balls but his next fifty flowed in 39 balls, as South Zone had only one genuine spinner in Ankit.

Bhui's part-time leg-spin was helpful only in slipping in a few quick overs that helped South maintain a reasonable over-rate on the day.

It may be recalled that Central spinners Saransh Jain and Kumar Kartikeya had taken nine wickets among them.

At the other end, Rathod was more circumspect, giving as much strike as possible to on-song Patidar, but the latter will regret getting out to a loose shot.

The Central leader played a pull off Gurjapneet only to nibble the ball down the leg side to wicketkeeper and his South counterpart Mohammed Azharuddeen.

Rathod, last season's highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy, fetched his fifty in 84 balls, and then marched to the three-figure mark in 132 balls with a single off Ankit, and he celebrated the moment with a short run with outstretched hands.

The wicket of Patidar might have given South the hope of running through Central's late order to limit the first innings deficit.

But Rathod and Jain added 118 runs for the unfinished sixth wicket stand to stretch Central's lead past the 200-run mark, and carrying them closer to the Duleep title. PTI UNG UNG AH AH