East Zone vice-captain Vaibhav Sooryavanshi poked fun at South Zone skipper Tilak Varma on Day 4 of the Duleep Trophy final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. As Tilak walked out to bat, Sooryavanshi was seen sledging the southpaw, returning the favour after the latter had done the same to the teenager on the opening day of the clash. Sooryavanshi then appeared to brush shoulders with Tilak, prompting the South Zone captain to complain to the referee about the incident.
Vaibhav had the last laugh as East Zone ended its 13-year wait for the Duleep Trophy title, beating South Zone on the basis of a first-innings lead.
Tilak conceded that his side was completely ‘outplayed’ by East Zone, adding that conceding over 700 runs in the first innings virtually sealed the title clash’s outcome. The result ended South Zone’s bid for back-to-back Duleep Trophy titles, while East Zone lifted the prestigious silverware for the first time since the 2012/13 season. “If you have seen, honestly, the first day we could have done better, but they sealed the game when they scored 700. Everyone knows, like, it is slightly tough chasing 700. But again, there were a few phases we could have captured, but we hadn’t bowled that great,” said Varma, who made 99 in South Zone’s lone innings with the bat, in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Honestly, it is disappointing for us, but there have been a lot of learnings in this game, and hopefully we’ll come back stronger. But again, credit goes to their batters, how they batted.
