Yuvraj sets Mohali alight

Close Day 3 North Zone 330 and 292 for 3 (Yuvraj 148, Chopra 95) lead East Zone 322 (Powar 102, Sarandeep 5-64) by 300 runs
Scorecard

Yuvraj Singh set Mohali alight with a masterful 148, his second hundred of the match, as East Zone were ground into the dust on the 3rd day of the Duleep Trophy final. Aakash Chopra chipped in with a composed 95 and North were comfortably placed at 292 for 3 when stumps were drawn.

Though the day ended with North completely in command, the day began on a more even note. East began cautiously needing 43 more to gain the first-innings lead. Kiran Powar (102), who gave expression to his aggressive streak last evening, showed a lot of confidence in Debasish Mohanty's batting abilities and worked the ball in the vacant areas. Mohanty's 51-minute defiance ended when Gagandeep Singh trapped him in front (302 for 9) and that forced Powar to swish at every ball. He hogged the strike admirably and cracked a few scorching slog-sweeps that helped East reduce the margin. He fell soon after bringing up his hundred, which included 14 fours and a six, when East were just 8 adrift. East had clawed back well, but Yuvraj's assault left them bruised and bereft of ideas.

Yuvraj's hundred on the first day was characterized by some booming back-foot drives that pierced the off-side field. Today, he displayed his sweeping prowess and played a huge chunk of strokes on the on side. His first fifty came in 66 balls, and the ball raced to the square and long leg boundary. Until he brought up his hundred, there was only one four on the off side and it was like a practice session on leg-side perfection. Once he reached his hundred he toyed with the bowling and he appeared to be playing in a different zone. He fell when he edged one to the wicketkeeper as he tied to smash one through the covers (260 for 3).

Yuvraj termed his innings as a "special effort". "One has to be lucky to get a hundred in each innings of a Duleep Trophy match. And this is the final and there is a big series against Pakistan coming up." When asked about his role as an opener in Test matches he said, "I couldn't open in this game because there were already two specialists there. But I am keen to do well as an opener."

Chopra (95) wasn't as aggressive, but built his innings in an unruffled manner. He unsettled the length of the spinners by jumping down regularly and he too used the sweep to good effect. Barring a stumping chance, which he survived when on 65, he looked completely assured in the middle. Both batsmen were helped by uninspired bowling, lack of variation, and sagging spirits in the East camp. Chopra fell five short of a hundred, getting a leading edge when he tried to lift Saurishish Lahiri over midwicket (278 for 3).

North now have a firm grasp on the match and the title. It will take an inspired effort from East Zone if they are to stave off defeat.