South Zone edges out North in intense finish, faces West in final
In the final, South will take on defending champion West Zone in a repeat of the 2022 title clash. Chasing 215 in overcast conditions, South Zone was in the driver’s seat with Mayank Agarwal (54; 57b) and skipper Hanuma Vihari’s (43; 42b) playing counterattacking knocks.
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BENGALURU: Tamil Nadu’s R Sai Kishore came up with a splendid all-round show as South Zone trumped North Zone by two wickets on a rain-interrupted but thrilling last day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal here on Saturday.
In the final, South will take on defending champion West Zone in a repeat of the 2022 title clash. Chasing 215 in overcast conditions, South Zone was in the driver’s seat with Mayank Agarwal (54; 57b) and skipper Hanuma Vihari’s (43; 42b) playing counterattacking knocks.
But the pace trio of Harshit Rana (3/84), Baltej Singh (2/47) and Vaibhav Arora (2/46) gave their side timely breakthroughs, while North skipper Jayant Yadav grabbed the prized scalp of Agarwal. There were two rain interruptions, the longest was for about two hours just before the final session, when South required 32 runs with Ricky Bhui (34; 29b) and Tilak Varma (25; 19b) going great guns.
With five wickets intact, South had one foot in the final but it faced some anxious moments as it was aware that North would make the cut by virtue of its three-run first-innings lead, if there was no further play. But play resumed and more drama followed when Rana and Baltej’s twin bursts pushed South in a precarious 213/8, after it lost four wickets for just 22 runs.
However, spin-bowling all-rounder Sai Kishore, who grabbed a tidy 3/28 to dismiss North for 211 in its second essay, played the finisher’s role with an unbeaten 15 that included two sixes under pressure.
Resuming the final day at 21 for no loss, South started on a brisk note with Agarwal racing to 24 off 19 balls.
Desperately looking to break the opening partnership, North skipper Yadav brought in Arora, and the change in bowling worked as he accounted for Sai Sudharsan (17) after a 44-run opening stand. The dismissal stopped the run-flow as Agarwal slowed down with the strike-rate going below 100 for the first time in his innings.
Brief scores: North Zone 198 & 211 lost to South Zone 195 & 219/8 in 36.1 overs (M Agarwal 54, H Vihari 43, H Rana 3/84); West Zone 220 & 297 drew with Central Zone 128 & 128/4 in 35 overs (R Singh 40)
