BENGALURU: Defensiveness was West Zone's initial approach. With the sun out and a surface which had some sparse grass, skipper Priyank Panchal played it safe and opted to bowl against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy final at the M Chinnaswamy stadium here.
The home team, the bridesmaids from last season, had every opportunity to beat the opposition's strategies and claim early advantage on Wednesday. But Hanuma Vihari and Co. handed the day's honours to the defending champions, scoring 182/7 in 65 overs when stumps were drawn. A fine 79-run partnership between Tilak Varma (40) and Vihari (63) proved face-saving for South.
