Gaikwad hits ton in Duleep Trophy

Bengaluru: Ruturaj Gaikwad compensated for the failure of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer, compiling a wonderfully paced 184 as West Zone fought back to reach 363 for six against Central Zone on the first day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal here on Thursday.

Tanush Kotian (65) and Shardul Thakur (24) were batting when stumps were drawn at the BCCI Centre of Excellence ‘B’ grounds, after West batted by choice. Undoubtedly, Gaikwad, whose innings came of just 206 balls, was the star of the day, coasting to his second successive hundred after making a 133 for Maharashtra against Himachal Pradesh in the Buchi Babu tournament last month.

Jagadeesan shines

Meanwhile, Narayan Jagadeesan blended caution with aggression in right proportions during his undefeated knock of 148 as South Zone were comfortably placed at 297/3 against North Zone on the opening day their semi-final.

Jagadeesan, who recently earned his maiden India squad call-up during the fifth Test against England at Oval, was flawless during the 260 balls that he faced, hitting 13 fours and two sixes.