Duleep Trophy: Baba, Manish guide South to 553/7 against West

Double centuries by Baba Aprajith and Manish Pandey helped South Zone amass 553 for seven against West Zone on the second day of their four-day quarterfinal match of the Duleep Trophy.

Chennai: Double centuries by in-form Baba Aprajith and Manish Pandey helped South Zone amass 553 for seven against West Zone on the second day of their four-day quarterfinal match of the Duleep Trophy here on Friday.

Aprajith (212) and Pandey (213) added 330 runs in 84.1 overs for the fourth and sixth wicket. This unusual stat was the result of Pandey suffering a groin injury, forcing him to retire hurt during the 19th over this morning. When Pandey walked back to the pavillion for medical examination and treatment, South were 242 for 3. At close, Malolan Rangarajan (26) and captain Vinay Kumar (19) were at the crease. In the period before Pandey re-joined Aprajith in the middle, South lost two wickets -- C M Gautham (0) and Rohan Prem 35. Aprajith and Rohan put on 91 runs for the fifth wicket in 26.2 overs. Later, Aprajith was once again joined by Pandey and together they made merry putting on 140 runs in 37.1 for the sixth wicket. Earlier, the duo had added 190 runs in 47 overs for the unfinished fourth-wicket stand. Despite a dazzling performance, Aprajith went back to the pavillion a disgruntled man after being run out jointly by substitute Harshad Khadiwale and wicket-keeper Rohit Motani. Aprajith`s stylish knock ended at 212 and came off 315 balls in 494 minutes and contained 17 fours and a six. At the other end Pandey was not too aggressive after coming back. He was looking tired and made his exit after being adjudged LBW by Rakesh Dhruv. His individual 213 (303b, 13x4, 5x6) had come in two parts and his first session of batting yielded 104 runs (9x4, 1x6). During the second part of his innings, Pandey hit 13 fours and five massive sixes. Resuming at the overnight score of 213 for three, the determined duo of Aprajith and Pandey kept their cool to make a mark for themselves. West Zone skipper Wasim Jaffer, in fact, tried every possible bowling combination without any success. PTI