As with any team competition, the Dulip Trophy also serves as a means to achieve certain individual goals. Cheteshwar Pujara is the most prominent example.

The veteran Indian batsman was excluded from the Indian team for the tour of the West Indies. Being excluded from the squad could certainly have left him bruised.But the Saurashtra star didn’t confine himself to a dark corner. He flew to Bengaluru and made 133 goals for West Zone in the semifinal match against Central Zone, ensuring his team’s entry into the title race.

He is looking forward to another productive game in the final. The willingness to fight shown by a man who has played 103 Tests and scored over 7000 runs will be an example to many other players from both teams.

Mayank Agarwal, vice-captain of the South team, Sarfaraz Khan and Prithvi Shaw have come into this match building on the large number of runs they scored in the previous season of Ranji.

Mayank made two fifties (76 and 54) in the quarterfinals against North Zone, but the West Zone pair of Prithvi and Sarfaraz failed to get going. The trio will be aiming for a better performance this week.

Hanuma Vihari and Washington Sundar also need a solid effort, but for a different reason than the aforementioned trio.

Vihari last played for India in 2022 in the Birmingham Test against England, while Washington played against Sri Lanka in a white-ball series at the start of the