Duleep Trophy | South to take on Central in summit clash as semifinals end in draws

A fruitful morning session was all that South Zone needed to shut out North Zone on the final day of its Duleep Trophy semifinal at the BCCI CoE Ground (1) here on Sunday.

In the final, commencing at the same venue here on Thursday, South will take on Central Zone.

Resuming on 278 for five, North needed a further 259 runs to overhaul South’s innings total. North’s tough task was made that much harder when key batter Shubham Khajuria (128) was taken out in the second over of the day.

Khajuria prodded forward to a ball from fast bowler V. Koushik, but failed to cover the line. With Khajuria’s stumps knocked back, South had one foot in the final.

Sahil Lothra (19, 31b, 2×4) and Mayank Dagar (31, 40b, 5×4) presented a semblance of fight as the skies suddenly became overcast. North hoped

for rain to provide some relief, but it was not to be.

Kerala fast bowler M.D. Nidheesh produced a lively spell, cleaning up Lothra and Dagar. North was soon dismissed for 361, 175 runs short of South’s tally.

South batted 24.4 overs in its second innings, before the teams agreed to call it off.

Having gained the first-innings lead on Saturday, Central was virtually assured of a spot in the summit clash. Saransh Jain (63 n.o.) took the Central total to 600 — putting the game to bed.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (64), Aarya Desai (35) and Tanush Kotian (40 n.o.) got runs under their belt when West came out to bat. Central spinner Saransh (5/84) reduced West to 216/8, giving the former the prospect of gaining a victory. At the stroke of tea, however, the teams shook hands and play came to an end.

West captain Shardul Thakur stated that it was tough for fast bowlers on the batting-friendly pitch. “There was not much for fast bowlers. Being a fast bowler, I expect that there should be more pitches where the game is even for fast bowlers, batters and spinners,” Thakur said.

The scores: At BCCI CoE Ground (1): South Zone 536 & 95/1 in 24.4 overs (N. Jagadeesan 52 n.o.) drew with North Zone 361 in 100.1 overs (Shubham Khajuria 128, Ayush Badoni 40, Nishant Sindhu 82, Mayank Dagar 31, M.D. Nidheesh 3/82, Gurjapneet Singh 4/96). PoM: Jagadeesan.

At BCCI CoE Ground (2): West Zone 438 & 216/8 in 53.3 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 64, Aarya Desai 35, Tanush Kotian 40 n.o., Saransh Jain 5/84, Harsh Dubey 3/96) drew with Central Zone 600 in 164.3 overs (Ayush Pandey 40, Danish Malewar 76, Shubham Sharma 96, Rajat Patidar 77, Upendra Yadav 87, Harsh 75, Saransh 63 n.o., Deepak Chahar 33, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 4/130, Arzan Nagwaswalla 3/57). PoM: Saransh.