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Duleep Trophy 2014-15: Ali Murtaza’s emergence as an all-rounder

Murtaza finished with figures of three for 59 in the second innings.

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Ali Murtaza has played 15 first-class games © IANS
Ali Murtaza has played 15 first-class games © IANS

Ali Murtaza played a crucial role Central Zone’s memorable victory in the final of the Duleep Trophy 2014-15 at Kotla. Central Zone came back from behind to win the thriller of a contest by nine runs. Amit Banerjee explores the possibility of the off-spinner making it to the national team.

The Duleep Trophy 2014-15 final held between Central Zone and South Zone was not expected to garner much interest among cricket fans. That was clearly not the case however, as the match was one of the hottest topics trending on Twitter. There were several takeaways from the match, from KL Rahul’s magnificent centuries in both innings and Robin Bist’s efforts in the second innings, among others. One of the highlights of the match was Ali Murtaza’s emergence as an all-rounder.

The 24-year-old off-spinner from Allahabad did not make much of a mark in the first innings, getting dismissed on a score of 16. South Zone had dismissed Central Zone on 276, and were cruising on a score of 308 for four, poised to gain a massive lead. The third day however, saw South Zone lose their last six wickets for 20 runs, four of which were claimed by Murtaza. The effort helped stop South Zone from taking full control of the match.

Central Zone begun their second innings well, with Faiz Fazal and Jalaj Saxena putting up a 128-run opening stand. The side however, soon collapsed from 195 for two to 260 for seven. Bist did not give up, and found an able partner in Murtaza. The pair added 104 runs for the eighth wicket, and Bist fought hard to guide Central past the 400-run mark, setting a challenging 300-run target for South.

Murtaza’s heroics however, came to fore on the final day. South Zone resumed from their overnight score of 184 for one, courtesy Rahul’s century. Nobody gave Central Zone a chance. After all, they had to score a mere 116 with nine wickets in hand.

Rahul’s wicket once again set off a series of dismissals that saw South Zone collapse to 260 for six from 203 for one. Murtaza claimed the wicket of South Zone skipper Vinay Kumar, who scored 24 from 38 balls, right before lunch. His dismissal led the tail-enders to panic and play the wrong shots, which Murtaza capitalised on.

The win was finally achieved when Murtaza bowled Shreyas Gopal, finishing with figures of three for 59. A performance of seven for 118 with the ball, along with a half-century, can guarantee a ‘Man-of-the-Match’ award on most occasions. In this case however, Rahul’s centuries overshadowed his fine all-round performance. The least Murtaza can be rewarded with is a place in the national side in the near future, though it a place in the World Cup squad is one that cannot be guaranteed immediately.

India has discovered a series of cricketers who have proved themselves handy as a batsman as well as a spinner (part or full-time) like Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, or Ravichandran Ashwin. Such players have proved to be great discoveries for India over the years, and have played important roles in the success of the team of late. The selection can be termed ‘positive growth’ by many a cricket fan and national selector, though there is no denying that the India needs to work on several areas.

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)

 

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