Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 2 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) men's selection committee members Pragyan Ojha, RP Singh, Ajay Ratra and Shiv Sundar Das are present at Bengaluru, catching up on Duleep Trophy action.
As the North Zone versus South Zone semifinal is ongoing, Pragyan posted a picture of the selectors' quartet (without chief selector Ajit Agarkar) on his Instagram.
"The conversations are plenty, but there's always room for a smile #duleeptrophy #coe #bengaluru #menatwork," posted Ojha on Instagram.
It is unclear though, which match the selectors were watching during the time the photograph was taken. Selectors would undoubtedly be keeping an eye on talent, ahead of away Tests against New Zealand from November-December this year and a home Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia from January onwards.
Currently, in the North versus South semifinal, South Zone is cruising towards an easy win, setting a target of 181 runs.
North Zone was skittled out for 195 after opting to bat first, with some fight from Qamran Iqbal (76), while Vidwath Kaverappa dominated the proceedings with the ball for South Zone. For South Zone, skipper Tilak Verma (116) and Shreyas Gopal (87) played valuable knocks, taking them to 312 runs, leading by 117 runs. Gurnoor Brar (4/88) was the leading wicket-taker for North Zone, while Anshul Kamboj and Arshdeep Singh got two each.
In the second innings, North Zone put up a fighting score of 297 runs, with the Delhi duo of Sanat Sangwan (76) and Ayush Doseja (52) getting fifties. MD Nidheesh took a lethal fifer for South Zone. North Zone could only extend their lead by 180 runs, setting SZ 181 runs to win.
Previously, East Zone defeated Central Zone by four wickets in a thrilling first semifinal of the Duleep Trophy at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here on Tuesday to book their place in the final.
Chasing 159 for victory, East Zone reached 162/6 in 39.3 overs, with captain Ishan Kishan leading the chase with a composed 39. Kishan remained unbeaten on 39, while Mohammed Shami hit the winning runs as East Zone completed a hard-fought victory.
The victory sends East Zone into the Duleep Trophy final, while Central Zone's campaign and title defence come to an end.Ace seamer Mohammed Shami enjoyed an impressive outing, finishing with five wickets in the match as he continued to make a strong case for a return to the Indian team and keep knocking on the selectors' doors.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was the star for East Zone, with quickfire knocks of 92 and 40 playing a big role in his team's win. Mukesh Kumar got the 'Player of the Match' award, taking seven wickets, including a four-fer in second innings. (ANI)
