On an aim of 298 points, Shaw, Pujara, and Suryakumar could not make any progress.
Priyank Panchal is such a cricket nerd that during a summer family vacation in Australia,
. South Zone 213 and 230 (Vihari 42, Washington 37, Bhui 37, Jadeja 5-40) must score 116 more runs than West Zone 146 and 182 for 5 (Panchal 92*, Sarfaraz 48, Koushik 3-28).
Priyank Panchal is such a cricket nerd that during a summer family vacation in Australia, he made a detour to Bowral to see the Bradman Museum. He later went by to witness the World Test Championship [WTC] final at the Oval in England last month while on a tour of the Gray-Nicolls factory, the manufacturer of his bat, to get a taste of what it may be like to play in one.
Panchal was a member of the national team’s periphery until last year. In late 2021, he was chosen as a backup opener for the away tour of South Africa. In February 2022, he was selected for the home series against Sri Lanka. Due to a hernia, he could not play the fifth Test against England in Birmingham as the reserve opener.
Since then, Panchal has not been involved, and at 33, his time may be running out. As of the right moment, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has surpassed players like Panchal and Abhimanyu Easwaran, will receive a long rope, as he deserves after starting his Test career with a brilliant 171 in Dominica. What happens to people like Panchal now?
On the periphery, it felt like you had struck a brick wall since the top order was crowded when you started scoring large runs for India A. And when chances came up, people preferred someone else. Panchal may feel betrayed by the course of events, but there isn’t much he can do about it other than to keep producing runs.
He will have the chance to present the West Zone with the Duleep Trophy championship on Sunday. Despite having their backs against the wall, Panchal convinced them otherwise. He is unbeaten on 92, but a more significant objective on a fifth-day track at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium shows symptoms of wear and strain. West Zone needs 116 runs; South Zone needs five wickets. Washington Sundar and Vyshak Vijaykumar produced significant contributions that helped get the total up to 230, which is why they have so many people to defend. They both made 37 and 23, respectively.
The numbers for Panchal’s first three innings this year were 11, 13, and 15. With the Ranji Trophy commencing in January 2024, Panchal only had one opportunity to further establish his case for an India cap. He might have had two more if he were selected for the Rest of India’s side for the Irani Cup in October. His challenge was made more difficult by West Zone collapsing once more.
The seamer from Karnataka, V Koushik, had delivered three devastating strikes. Cheteshwar Pujara batted with firm hands and was caught at bat-pad, while Suryakumar Yadav was brilliantly undone by a late inswing that got him lbw. Prithvi Shaw was bowled. West Zone’s objective of 298 felt far away at 79 for 4.
Panchal, though, remained steadfast and focused. In many ways, it was traditional, emphasizing crease occupation, wearing down the bowlers, and seeking to profit when they made mistakes. One issue was that the bowlers barely made mistakes, and Panchal realized that if he didn’t adjust, he may get bowled by a grubber. As a result, he started searching more intently for singles and doubles, and after flipping that switch, he started smashing even decent balls to the boundary.
With a string of straight drives, Panchal wowed. He reached his half-century off 128 balls and passed 8000 first-class runs, but neither milestone drew much attention. Panchal placed his head down and continued as if nothing would stop him since he knew there was work to be done, regardless of who or how many people were present.
Panchal was joined at the other end by Sarfaraz Khan. a batsman whose absence from the Test team sparked a heated discussion about the worth of runs in domestic cricket. Sarfaraz has put in the work, scored runs in various situations, and maintained his form for three complete domestic seasons, but his India A record could be better. A weakness against the short ball is noticeable in addition to the runs. And in the last session, he got plenty of that.
Sarfaraz was even struck on the helmet once, prompting the physio to come out and assess him for a concussion. Regardless of the bounce, Sarfaraz’s problems start with his first trigger movement towards the leg as he tries to weave out of the path.
With the batter far from the crease, Sachin Baby’s missed run-out attempt from cover gave Sarfaraz a reprieve at 2, and he gambled against spin by sweeping Washington Sundar from the rough and slogging with the reel into the leg side.
The plan was successful. The target was shrinking until Sarfaraz attempted to flick against the turn of a Sai Kishore delivery but went too close to the pitch and had his leg stump slapped back. It was a crucial turn of events in the game. After three balls, the light meters were out, and Panchal, who reached the 90s with a gully drive, and Sheth exhaled in relief.
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