You have to strain to hear Wriddhiman Saha speak. But then he is the kind who loves to let his bat do all the talking. His unbeaten century, crafted in quite testing conditions, evidently established his credentials on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final as East Zone finished at 258 for four against North Zone here on Saturday.
Saha's century — his sixth in first class matches — was the focal point of East's recovery. Not to forget the fluent 86 by Ishank Jaggi and his 194-run fourth-wicket association with Saha. This partnership frustrated North which was smiling after some early success. East, electing to bat, was 60 for three with North appearing flatteringly menacing. Saha stepped in at this stage, took control of the proceedings, guided Jaggi and hauled East out with an innings of tremendous grit and character.
“It was a double-paced pitch,” confessed Saha, who flew in here directly from Adelaide. “It was not the best pitch to bat on but then it was not bad either if you were set.” The Kookaburra brand ball was also a cause of consternation for the North bowlers.
The idea of using Kookaburra balls in at least one domestic tournament was introduced a few years ago at the suggestion of captains of various teams. The aim was to prepare some players for their foreign assignments. But the problem lies in the fact that after initial promise the Kookaburra ball offers little scope for the bowlers in terms of swing.
It was no different this afternoon when Saha and Jaggi milked the North bowling.
Playing on merit
Dominant on the off side, Saha and Jaggi played the ball on merit and made runs with authority once they got their eye in. Saha conceded there was pressure when he walked in.
He knew his job well — to hang in there — and did it to perfection with a flawless innings.
The intensity was understandably missing because the focus was on building a respectable challenge to an opposition that rightly prides in its long batting line-up.
East adopted a cautious approach, even if bordering on boredom at times, but emerged satisfied at the close.
Saha's 166-ball knock contained 11 fours and one six while Jaggi hit 16 fours and one six in his 152-ball essay.
The scores:
East Zone — 1st innings: Dheeraj Jadhav b Awana 33, Manish Vardhan lbw b Bhatia 21, Natraj Behera c & b Bhatia 0, Ishank Jaggi c Mishra b Patel 86, Wriddhiman Saha (batting) 100, Bilap Samantray (batting) 0; Extras (lb-9, nb-9) 18. Total (for four wkts. in 83 ovcers) 258.
Fall of wickets: 1-60, 2-60, 3-60, 4-254.
North Zone bowling: Pradeep Sangwan 19-7-41-0, Harshal Patel 17-3-63-1, Parvinder Awana 18-2-60-1, Rajat Bhatia 15-4-41-2, Amit Mishra 14-4-44-0.
