The Duleep Trophy semi-final between South Zone and North Zone triggered the sportsmanship debate after an incredible time-wasting drama unfolded on the final day. The North Zone, led by Jayant Yadav took a whopping 53 minutes to bowl 5.5 overs in the final session, leaving the South Zone batters bewildered and cricket lovers in excruciating frustration. Eventually, it was the South Zone that prevailed, winning the contest but the manner in which the North Zone delayed the match, saw many raise the 'spirit of cricket' questions on social media.
The game had lost about 100 minutes of play due to rain. When the play began, South Zone knew they had to score runs rather quickly. The North Zone decided to put most of their fielders on the boundary rope and change field at virtually every ball that was bowled in the final session. The South Zone needed just 5.5 overs to score the required 32 runs but those runs came in 53 minutes. Three of the 5.5 overs took 10 minutes each to complete while the other needed 12 and 7 minutes. Quite often, a fielder would be seen running in from deep, to be placed inside the 30-yard circle, but would then be sent back immediately.
Speaking after the match, even the South Zone captain Hanuma Vihari admitted that he would've done the same if he was in Jayant Yadav's position."I've come across a lot of games where a team is trying to delay in the final few overs because it gives advantage, which is obviously not wrong on their part. Some will say it is not in the spirit of the game, but even if I was the captain, I would have done the same thing," he told reporters after the game.The South Zone would now face the West Zone in the final.
