Duleep Trophy: In an intense finish, the South Zone edged over the North Zone, facing west in a rematch of the 2022 final

South Zone defeated North Zone by two wickets on a rain-interrupted but thrilling final day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal in Bengaluru on Saturday, led by Tamil Nadu's R Sai Kishore. In a rematch of the 2022 title match, South will face reigning champions West Zone in the final. South Zone were in control of the chase in cloudy conditions, with Mayank Agarwal (54; 57b) and skipper Hanuma Vihari (43; 42b) playing counterattacking knocks.Harshit Rana (3/84), Baltej Singh (2/47) and Vaibhav Arora (2/46) provided crucial breakthroughs for his side, while North skipper Jayant Yadav claimed the prized scalp of Agarwal.There were two rain delays, the largest of which lasted approximately two hours immediately before the final session, when South needed 32 runs and Ricky Bhui (34; 29b) and Tilak Varma (25; 19b) were on fire.Arora struck again, this time trapping Samarth R for five points to keep North Zone's slim hopes alive.However, skipper Vihari and Agarwal responded with a counterattacking approach, adding 59 runs in 40 deliveries.The run-chase was then heightened by rain.Rain delayed play for the first time before the lunch break, with South at 68 for two and Agarwal at 35.The rain continued to fall as they took an early lunch break, with South still needing 147 runs.The rain ceased, and Vihari and Agarwal resumed where they left off after lunch.South had one foot in the final with five wickets intact, but they were nervous since they knew North would make the cut based on their three-run first-innings lead if there was no further play.Sai Kishore, the spin-bowling all-rounder who took 3/28 to dismiss North for 211 in their second innings, fulfilled the finisher's role with an unbeaten 15 that included two sixes under pressure.South resumed the last day at 21 for no loss, with Agarwal sprinting to 24 off 19 balls.North skipper Yadav sent in Arora in an attempt to break the opening pair, and the change in bowling worked as he dismissed Sai Sudharsan (17) after a 44-run opening stand.The dismissal halted the run-flow as Agarwal's strike-rate dropped below 100 for the first time in his innings.Just when it looked like Agarwal and Vihari were in firm control, Yadav dismissed the former immediately after he had completed his half-century.In the space of 23 runs, South skipper Vihari also followed suit, failing to capitalise on his good start.On a high after his maiden national call-up for the West Indies T20I series, Varma came in and took on the attack.With dark clouds looming, Bhui and Varma's aggressive intent was expected and the duo in no time reduced the target under 50.Just before the tea break, there was another rain stoppage with South needing 32 runs to win.Given the unpredictable weather, Rana attempted various game-delaying tactics, even though South had the upper hand.However, Bhui and Varma were dismissed in consecutive overs, leaving South 24 runs short of the mark.Prabhsimran Singh did the rest behind the stumps after Rana induced an edge.When Rana induced a nick from Washington Sundar, the seventh wicket fell. Baltej dismissed KV Sasikanth after he crushed Rana for a six.With North on a roll, Vijaykumar Vyshak showed some fight, surviving three deliveries from Baltej before Sai Kishore, 26, sealed the deal with a six off Yadav.North Zone 198 and 211 are the quick scores. South Zone 195 and 219/8; 82 overs (Mayank Agarwal 54, Hanuma Vihari 43, Ricky Bhui 34, Tilak Varma 25 not out). South Zone triumphed by two wickets.

Jul 8, 2023 3:31 PM