Former Indian opener and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has showered praise on the East Zone, led by Ishan Kishan, for securing the title without having too many big Indian players in their squad.
Notably, it was East Zone’s first Duleep Trophy title in 13 years, with their last title win coming way back in 2012-13. Writing his column for Mid-Day, Gavaskar hailed Kishan for leading the team perfectly well.
“It’s a good sign for Indian cricket to see a team with just one big name in batting and one big name in bowling lift the trophy. What it shows is that if a team is well-led and combines well, then they can win matches and trophies,” Gavaskar wrote in his column.
Further, Gavaskar reckoned that the concept of having a first-innings lead to win the game at the domestic level could hurt the Indian team in the longest format of the game on flat surfaces.
East Zone, batting first, posted an imposing total of 708 in their first innings, courtesy of the skipper’s excellent 270. In reply, South Zone got bowled out for 336, as East Zone earned a massive 372-run lead.
Despite bagging a huge lead, East Zone batted again and scored 388/7 in their second innings before both sides settled for a draw. However, East Zone was declared the winner on the basis of their first-innings lead.
“This business of the first innings lead being enough, is one of the main reasons India struggle to take 20 wickets on good pitches. How does a team learn to take 20 wickets if they don’t bowl in two innings in a domestic game? India huffed and puffed on the last day of the second Test in Sri Lanka and couldn’t take the last four wickets for a victory,” he added.
