Duleep Trophy 2023: Sarfaraz Khan departs for 12-ball duck for West Zone in first semi final

The Duleep Trophy 2023 is in its semi-final stages as West Zone and Central Zone are locking horns in the first semi-final at KSCA Cricket Ground, Alur. West Zone captain Priyank Panchal has won the toss and elected to bat first. However, the decision wasn’t vindicated by the batters as they were reduced to 63/4 at lunch on Day 1.

One of the biggest blows to West Zone was the dismissal of Sarfaraz Khan who lost his stumps against Shivam Mavi for a 12-ball duck. The failure continues the dismal run the young batting sensation has been facing since IPL 2023. In the four matches played in the T20 extravaganza for Delhi Capitals, the 25-year-old could only amass 53 runs in four innings.

However, before that, he was seen in stupendous form in the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 where he accumulated 556 runs in six matches at an average of 92.66 with three hundreds to his name. It was his third consecutive successful season in the tournament where he plundered runs for fun.

Sarfaraz has been in tremendous form in the last three Ranji seasons, having scored 2566 runs since 2019. He was the leading run-scorer for Mumbai and the fifth-highest overall in the 2019/20 season as he scored 928 runs at a staggering average of 154.66. He further finished as the highest run-scorer in the 2021-22 season, scoring 982 runs at an average of 122.75.

Suryakumar Yadav and Prithvi Shaw also depart cheaply for West Zone

The batting prodigy has a phenomenal average of 79.65 in First Class cricket, which is only second to the legendary Don Bradman (95.14). However, despite his staggering numbers, Sarfaraz hasn’t been able to find a place in the Indian team.

Meanwhile, several other big names in Indian cricket also failed to leave a mark for West Zone. Prithvi Shaw, who’s been struggling to find a place in the Indian team, was dismissed for 26 (54) by Saurabh Kumar while Suryakumar Yadav (7) also fell prey to Shivam Mavi leaving his side in trouble