"Started setting up those traps and eventually they fell for it" - Vidwath Kaverappa on his match-winning spell in the Duleep Trophy 2023 final
Vidwath Kaverappa has shed light on the meticulous planning behind his game-changing seven-wicket haul in the first innings of the recently concluded Duleep Trophy final against West Zone.
Playing for the South Zone, Kaverappa, the latest pace bowling sensation, picked up figures of 7/53 to help the side claw back into the contest after scoring only 213 in their first innings.
After bowling out South Zone at the start of Day 2, West Zone romped ahead to 68/1 at lunch. With the game seemingly slipping away, Kaverappa stated that there was a change in plans within the think tank after taking suggestions from their video analyst.
"At lunch we spoke and the video analyst came up with some suggestions. And we started setting up those traps and eventually they fell for it. Its an amazing feeling when a plan comes off perfectly," the Karnataka pacer told BBCI TV.
"With the first session going into West's hands when they were batting well and taking the game away from us, we knew we had to come up with something to keep them quiet for a while," he added.
The change of plans immediately paid dividends as Kaverappa ripped through the West Zone batting lineup. He picked the vital scalps of Harvik Desai, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suryakumar Yadav, and Sarfaraz Khan in a fiery 12-over spell that propelled South Zone to an improbable 67-run first-innings lead.
That proved vital as South Zone ran away with the rest of the game and emerged victorious by 75 runs. It was their 14th Duleep Trophy title and a role reversal from a year ago when the side suffered a 294-run defeat to the same opponents.
"Be patient and wait for opportunities" - Vidwath Kaverappa on the keys to his success
Karnataka-born Vidwath Kaverappa has taken the Indian domestic circuit by storm over the past 16 months with his scintillating bowling performances across formats.
Having already picked up 30 wickets in eight matches at a 20.43 average for the state in the Ranji season, the 24-year-old took another gigantic step with his impressive showing in the Duleep Trophy. Kaverappa finished the tournament as the second leading wicket-taker with 15 scalps in two games at a resounding average of 11.93, including two five-wicket hauls.
On the keys to his success in the semifinal and the final, Kaverappa said:
"Just doing the basics right, following the process. We knew how the wicket was going to be since it's our home ground and we've played a lot of games over there. We knew it will get better to bat on so we had to be patient and wait for opportunities and that's what we did."
The pace sensation was adjudged the Player of the Match for his outstanding performance in the final. Kaverappa also recorded the second-best all-time figures for South Zone in Duleep Trophy, behind only Venkatesh Prasad's 7/38 against North Zone in 1993.
He was equally impressive in white-ball cricket in his debut season last year. The youngster picked up 35 wickets in a combined 16 games at the Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare Trophy.
His stunning exploits led to him being bought by the Punjab Kings ahead of the 2023 IPL season.