Updated On: 12 July, 2023 07:47 AM IST | Bangalore | R Kaushik
In a repeat of last year’s title clash, defending champions West Zone take on hosts South in the five-day game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium from Wednesday, Priyank Panchal’s men confident they have the batting resources to pull off an encore

West Zone’s leading batsmen (left to right) Cheteshwar Pujara, Suryakumar Yadav, Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan
The Indian Test team is in the Caribbean. An U-23 team in the guise of India ‘A’ has landed in Colombo for the Emerging Teams Asia Cup. Yet, a plethora of batting stars will line up to do battle in the final of the season’s first domestic competition—Duleep Trophy.
In a repeat of last year’s title clash, defending champions West Zone take on hosts South in the five-day game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium from Wednesday, Priyank Panchal’s men confident they have the batting resources to pull off an encore. South, under Hanuma Vihari, might not boast the same on-paper batting wealth, but they have an excellent pace attack marshalled by local lads Vidwath Kaverappa and Vyshak Vijaykumar, both coming off five-wicket hauls in the thrilling semi-final win over North. This should be a cracking contest.