Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 5 : Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper batter Narayan Jagadeesan agonisingly fell short of a double hundred in the semi-finals of the ongoing Duleep Trophy after being run out and falling three short of the milestone.
Jagadeesan, who was called in for India's fifth Test against England, spearheaded South Zone's batting attack against North Zone in the semi-final being played on Ground 1 of the BCCI's Centre of Excellence.
The 29-year-old, who averaged 47.5 coming into the fixture, raised a century opening stand with Tanmay Agarwal and then replicated it with Devdutt Padikkal for the second wicket. After his opening-day exploits, he looked destined to celebrate his double hundred after negating the threat posed by Anshul Kamboj and the in-form Auqib Nabi.
Jagadeesan was cruising with consummate ease to his third 200+ score in first-class cricket after breaching the mark in 2024 with an unbeaten 245. A week later, he walloped a herculean 321 to become Tamil Nadu's highest individual scorer in first-class cricket.
His exploits on the second day eventually ended when Nishant Sandhu had him run out, forcing Jagadeesan to return to the dressing room on 197(352). He previously fell short of the mark during his first attempt when he was caught 17 short of a double tonne in 2020.
With another mammoth score, Jagadeesan continues to build on the success he enjoyed in the last Ranji Trophy season, garnering 674 runs at an average of 56. Apart from Jagadeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad sent a bold statement with a flamboyant hundred in the other semi-final on the opening day.
Gaikwad, who is yet to make a Test appearance for India, scored his eighth first-class century. While Gaikwad and Jagadeesan made a substantial impact, star batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer flopped on their domestic cricket return during West Zone's Duleep Trophy semi-final match against Central Zone. Just like Jagadeesan, Gaikwad too missed out on a double tonne after perishing on 184 (206).
Jagadeesan got his break when he was sent to London as an injury replacement for Rishabh Pant for the fifth Test between India and England at The Oval. Although he did not get a chance to showcase his skillset, his inclusion marks his first stint with the national team.