South edge out North in intense finish, face West in final

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 raininterrupted but thrilling last day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal here on Saturday.

In the final, South will take on defending champions West Zone in a repeat of the 2022 title clash.

The summit clash between West and either South Zone or North Zone will be held at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium from July 12. Chasing 215 in overcast conditions, South Zone were 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 they faced some anxious moments as they were aware that North would make the cut by virtue of their three-run firstinnings 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 they 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 their 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.

Brief scores: North Zone 198 and 211. South Zone 195 and 219/8; 82 overs (Mayank Agarwal 54, Hanuma Vihari 43, Ricky Bhui 34, Tilak Varma 25, R Sai Kishore 15 not out). South Zone won by by two wickets. (PTI)