Riding on skipper Mohammad Kaifs unbeaten maiden double century,Central Zone batted for 125 overs to score 480 for 8 before declaring on the third day of the Duleep Trophy on Thursday. In reply,East Zone scored 61 for one,and if Kaifs bowlers cant pick the remaining nine wickets,the winner will be decided on the basis of run rate. Compared to Centrals 3.84,East are currently at 2.2,and for them to up the rate on the last day will be a big ask. As on the first two days,the game started only after lunch on the third day due to a delay forced by fog,but Kaif,batting overnight on 148,wasnt to be denied his double ton. Naman Ojha (29) and Piyush Chawla (29) also chipped in with useful contributions as Central made the declaration. With this unbeaten 202,Kaif surpassed his earlier best score of 160,which was against West Zone in the 2007-08 Duleep Trophy. The Central bowlers will have to use the early conditions to their advantage on the final day to try for a win on the basis of a first-innings lead.
