Sai Sudharsan is going through a purple patch every batter dreams of. On Tuesday, the 21-year-old Tamil Nadu player slammed an unbeaten 132 (136b, 11x4, 1x6) to help South Zone beat Central Zone by seven wickets in the final league match and maintain its unbeaten run in this edition of the Deodhar Trophy.
After a scratchy half-century in the first match against East, the youngster was in his element showing great maturity in the way he paced his innings.
Chasing a target of 262, Sai Sudharsan started with some stylish flicks off Shivam Mavi in the PowerPlay overs against Shivam Mavi as he got his side off to a good start. He almost walked in as opener as skipper Mayank Agarwal retired hurt after a throw hit him on the leg at the non-striker’s end.
Sai Sudharsan forged a 69-run stand with Rohit Rayudu (37) for the third wicket, content to let his partner go for the boundaries.
Once Rayudu got out, Sai Sudharsan took charge, cutting and pulling Karn Sharma for fours in quick succession to race to his century.
He also found good support from fellow TN left-hander Washington Sundar, who kept it simple with a sensible knock (43 n.o., 58b, 2x4). The duo were involved in an unbroken 114-run stand for the fourth wicket as South cruised home.
Earlier, after electing to bat, Central made 261 for nine, thanks to Yash Dubey’s 77 (99b, 5x4, 1x6) and Mavi’s 22-ball 38 (3x4, 3x6) lower down the order. Dubey targeted the straight boundaries against the South off-spinners and reached his half-century in style, depositing off-spinner Mohit Redkar for a six over long-on.
But South fought back as Redkar (three for 51) and Sijomon Joseph took four wickets during the middle phase. Redkar trapped Rinku in front as the batter played down the wrong line while Venkatesh Iyer gave a simple return catch.
When Dubey sliced Arjun Tendulkar to the backward point fielder, Central slid from 167 for three to 183 for seven. Mavi then went after Redkar, smashing two sixes and a four in one over as his side scored 81 in the last 10 overs. However, it was not enough against the rampaging South side.
The scores: Central 261/9 in 50 overs (Shivam Chaudhary 34, Yash Dubey 77, Shivam Mavi 38, Mohit Redkar 3/51) lost to South 262/3 in 48.2 overs (Sai Sudharsan 132 n.o., Rohit Rayudu 37, Washington Sundar 43 n.o.).
