DULEEP TROPHY : Debutant Kanhaiya stands tall as North Zone scores 308/6 against East

Bengaluru, Aug 28: JKCA’s talented wicketkeeper batter, Kanhaiya Wadhawan stood tall and guided North Zone to a decent score of 208/6 against formidable East Zone in Duleep Trophy at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) Ground, Bengaluru Thursday.A statement issued here said that Kanhaiya crafted an unbeaten 42 to put North Zone in a decent position. At his sublime best, Kanhaiya is a sight for the gods. Wristy, willowy and sinuous, he can match the skills of batting geniuses on his day. His on-side game is comparable to Azhars and Laxmans, yet he is decidedly more assured on the off side and has the rare gift of being able to hit the same ball to either side. Earlier, put into bat, North Zone were given a solid foundation by the opening duo of J&K’s Shubham Khajuria (26) and skipper Ankit Kumar (30). However, after their dismissals in quick succession, Ayush Badoni (63), Yash Dhull (39) and Nishant Sindhu (47) dazzled with the willow before Kanhaiya (42*), MJ Dagar (28*) and Sahil Lotra (19) guided the team to a decent total.  While Badoni emerged as the top scorer with quickfire 63 off just 60 balls, studded with 7 boundaries, Kanhaiya was at his sublime best, showing solidity and sublimity in his unbeaten knock off 42 runs off 92 ball including 3 crispy boundaries. Kanhaiya was at the crease on 42 and Mayank Dagar was unbeaten on 28 when rains interrupted the day’s play after 75.2 overs. Left-arm orthodox Manishi was the most successful bowler for East Zone, who took 3 wickets by conceding 90 runs in his 19 overs, while Mohmmad Shammi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal and Mukhtar Hussain claimed one wicket each.The highlight of the match was that four J&K players including Shubham Khajuria, Auqib Nabi, Kanhaiya Wadhawan and Sahil Lotra made it to the Playing XI, thus making debut in the prestigious Duleep Trophy. “DuleepTrophy2025. 4 J&K players including Shubham Khajuria, Kanhaiya Wadhawan, Sahil Lotra and Auqib Nabi made their Duleep Trophy debut in NZ Team, Historic moment,” tweeted Brig Anil Gupta, Member Administration JKCA.