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Kaif leads Central’s charge

Special Correspondent

RAJKOT: Munaf Patel, overcoming the Kookaburra ball’s tendency to go soft and steaming in to bowl on a wicket demanding extra work from the fast men, snapped up two wickets in 16 overs for West Zone in Duleep Trophy.

Central captain Mohd. Kaif (96 not out) played a calculated knock so typical of him to marshal his team’s charge towards the first innings lead. West remains 174 runs ahead at stumps on day two. Central, 237 for five after clawing back from 91 for four, needs the remaining batsmen to show character.

West captain Parthiv Patel used Munaf in three spells and was rewarded with the wickets of opener Vinit Saxena and Harshad Rawle, both rattled by bounce and edging behind.

“Bowling is not easy. The Kookaburra ball goes soft and the wicket is easy for batting,” said the India fast bowler. “This is my first four-day game after a long time. I had played a one-day match in Mumbai, but this is the real test of my fitness. I am happy with my work so far and want to bowl more.”

West tailenders defied Central on the second day morning, spinner Rakesh Dhruv (21), left-arm paceman Sandeep Jobanputra (45), Munaf (14) chipping in with 80 runs to take the total beyond the 400-mark. Sanjay Bangar, extending his Ranji Plate final form, captured four wickets with swing.

Central’s race towards the first innings lead in the four-day game appears difficult due to the calibre of the West attack. Munaf and southpaw Jobanputra were prepared to bend their backs sharing the new ball, Siddharth Trivedi choked the flow of runs and the spin duo of Ramesh Powar and Dhruv tested the batsmen.

Major blow

Dhruv’s success in dislodging an aggressive Bangar (26 runs, 4x4, 1x6) was a major blow. The former India and Railway opener, moved to number five in the Central batting order, places a premium on his wicket and is equipped with experience and resilience.

Eventually, Kaif ended up holding the innings together and has so far batted for 263 minutes, four short of a hundred off 182 balls. He kept the fielders busy by finding gaps, opening out for improvised drives on either side of the wicket. Mahesh Rawat is making merry at 40 not out and with Murali Kartik to follow, the game heads for more twists and turns on day three.

The scores:

West Zone — 1st innings: Sahil Kukreja c Rawat b Sanyal 72, Ajinkya Rahane c Kaif b Sanyal 50, Parthiv Patel c Sanyal b Bangar 3, Cheteshwar Pujara b Bangar 44, Rakesh Solanki c Rawle b Tyagi 25, Yusuf Pathan c Rawle b Sanyal 107, Ramesh Powar c sub b Bangar 9, Rakesh Dhruv lbw b Bangar 21, Sandeep Jobanputra c Kaif b Sanyal 45, Munaf Patel (not out) 14, Siddharth Trivedi lbw b Kartik 5. Extras (b-4, lb-1, nb-10, w-1) 16. Total (in 103.1 overs) 411.

Fall of wickets: 1-124, 2-129, 3-129, 4-174, 5-310, 6-310, 7-320, 8-349. 9-406.

Central bowling: Bangar 29-9-72-4, Tyagi 13-1-64-1, Kartik 22.1-4-78-1, Mathur 15-2-67-0, Sanyal 22-2-113-4, Saxena 2-0-12-0.

Central Zone —1st innings: Vinit Saxena c Parthiv b Munaf 2, Tanmay Srivastava c Rahane b Trivedi 12, Jalaj Saxena lbw Dhruv 46, Mohd. Kaif (batting) 96, Harshad Rawle c Parthiv b Munaf 3, Sanjay Bangar c Parthiv b Dhruv 26, Mahesh Rawat (batting) 40. Extras (b-4, lb-2, nb-6). 12. Total (for five wkts. in 74 overs ) 237.

Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-49, 3-73, 4-91, 5-134.

West bowling: Munaf 16-3-59-2, Jobanputra 15-3-45-0, Trivedi 17-2-61-1, Dhruv 19-10-38-2, Powar 6-2-22-0, Yusuf 1-0-6-0.

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