Duleep Trophy is about to get over as the tournament has reached the semis. However, the first semi-final between Central Zone and West Zone witnessed a few dramas unfold on the field. West Zone, after amassing 257 on the board in the first innings, troubled Central Zone with a fiery pace. Venkatesh Iyer, who came in at the crease for Central Zone went through a tough time on the field.
Chintan Gaja, the bowler’s throw hit the all-rounder on his neck. The player fell in agony and the ambulance had to be called out to help the player. However, Venkatesh Iyer walked off the field and looked okay for a while. The Indian all-rounder remained unbeaten on six runs when the incident took place.
It took some time for the minimal crowd and experts who witnessed the game to get back to normalcy. Any player who falls in pain would scare the spectators as the Australian horror of Phil Huges is yet to leave the minds of people. However, much to the relief of everyone, Venkatesh Iyer marched back to the crease in the hope to lift the team from the hiccup.
Unpleasant scene here. Venkatesh Iyer has been hit on the shoulder as Gaja throws the ball defended ball back at the batter. Venkatesh is down on the ground in pain and the ambulance arrives. #DuleepTrophy pic.twitter.com/TCvWbdgXFp
— Dhruva Prasad (@DhruvaPrasad9) September 16, 2022
Venkatesh Iyer fails to lift Central Zone
Speaking of the match, Central Zone’s skipper Karn Sharma opted to field first after calling it right at the toss. West Zone’s opener Prithvi Shaw looked in fine touch as he scored a mighty fifty to his name in quick time. Rahul Tripathi, on the other hand, backed the opener with his 67 in the middle order.
West Zone crumbled after putting 257 on board. It was all nightmare for the Central Zone openers as Jaydev Unadkat kept toying with the batters. The team lost half of its men for just 66 runs. Venkatesh Iyer, who walked off at six, returned to the field after the fall of the seventh wicket.
However, much to the disappointment of his team, the all-rounder perished for just fourteen runs. The skipper Karn Sharma tried to hold the fold till the last wicket and perished for 34 runs. The West Zone started the second innings with a lead of 129 runs.