Within days of conclusion of the Vijay Hazare trophy, South Zone and Central Zone are gearing up to book a place in the semi-final of the prestigious Deodhar Trophy (Zonal one-day tournament) at the Wankhede Stadium. After leading Karnataka to a second consecutive win in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Vinay Kumar will be captaining South Zone in the one-day tournament beginning November 29, in Mumbai. South Zone will be high on confidence with as many as seven players including himself from the winning side of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. “Winning games back-to-back is a big advantage that we have. And having seven players from Karnataka (winning team) is a positive thing for the team. Hopefully we will do well,” Vinay said. Speaking about his team and the difficulty in leaving out any of the seven players from Karnataka given their performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the South Zone captain said, “We haven’t decided on the 11. Yes, all have performed really well and if we think of the team perspective we need to choose the best 11. If all have performed, then hopefully all will play.” While discussing the opposition, the SZ captain pointed out that they were recently beaten by Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy final. “They are a good side. We lost to them in the Duleep Trophy final. But in a limited overs game, it will be anybody’s game. One or two good partnerships and the game can sway in team’s favour. We can’t take any team lightly. Central Zone is a good batting and bowling side. We will just try to go and give our best and try to perform to the best of our ability,” he added. His opposition number, Central Zone captain Piyush Chawla too recalled the Duleep Trophy final while reflecting on South Zone team and said, “They have a pretty good side but not much time ago we beat them in the final for the Duleep Trophy. Our chins are high and we are looking forward to a good game.” Speaking about the tournament ahead of the quarter-final clash, Vinay added, “It is always better to be playing a tournament. All performed well in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare one-day tournament. They will get good exposure playing here and being able to perform here, they can go on to play for India or India A. From my point of view I am looking at this as a very serious game and looking to perform well.” While reflecting on the tournament, the captains also put forward their thoughts on Phil Hughes’ tragedy on the cricket field. “What happened there was very tragic. It is a big loss to Phil’s family and to cricket as well,” Chawla said. Asked how it impacts the fast bowlers, Vinay said, “It is difficult. When I heard the news even I was kind of numb for two minutes. I did not know how to react. Most of the cricketers are going through the same thing. Unfortunately it happened but we need to move on; think about cricket and try to perform.”