Ali Murtaza, originally a stand-by, was playing only his first Duleep Trophy match and Piyush Chawla his 100th first-class encounter.
Curator Ankit Datta was making his first-class debut too. Practitioners of different art, they made it a memorable event at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Sunday.
Left-arm spinner Murtaza and leg-spinner Chawla, claiming three wickets each, plotted South Zone’s nine-run defeat after fast bowler Pankaj Singh gave Central Zone an electrifying opening on Sunday morning by accounting for in-form Rahul and out-of-form Dinesh Karthik in the same over.
Rahul, with two centuries in this match, was a sharp contrast to Karthik, who earned a ‘pair’.
It was quite an intriguing contest that met a most improbable end. A nine-run title win for Central after South had begun the day 117 runs adrift of the target with nine wickets in hand.
What should have been a canter for South assumed a tottering decline. Rahul played across and Karthik missed the line.
A hope, even if remote, led the Central revival with off-spinner Jalaj Saxena striking two big blows in the middle order.
When the Central bowlers did not go on the offensive, the South batsmen did, showing utter disregard to the situation.
“It was a poor performance from our side,” was an understatement by South skipper Vinay Kumar. He showed the character to accept the blame. “My wicket was the turning point,” said Vinay, who perished to an inside-out attempt.
From a cosy 252 for three, South slid to lose the next seven wickets for 39 runs.
The plan worked to perfection as South increasingly buckled under the pressure, the final wicket signifying the rot when Shreyas Gopal stepped out, only to be castled by one that was fired in by Murtaza.
Away from the action, the curator could afford a smile. He had a significant contribution in ensuring the pitch befitted the occasion.
CORRECTION: The headline ‘Rahul betters Bist’s effort for North’ which appeared in the edition dated November 2 was incorrect. It should have read ‘Rahul betters Bist’s effort for Central’.
