Tamil Nadu’s R Sai Kishore put on a stunning all-round showing as South Zone trumped North Zone by two wickets on a rain-stopped but thrilling final day of the Duleep Trophy semi-finals in Bengaluru on Saturday. The final will see South take on defending champion West Zone in a replay of the 2022 title fight. South Zone chased 215 in overcast conditions and was at the wheel with Mayank Agarwal (54; 57b) and skipper Hanuma Vihari’s (43; 42b) who played counterattacks.
But the pace trio of Harshit Rana (3/84), Baltej Singh (2/47) and Vaibhav Arora (2/46) provided timely breakthroughs as North skipper Jayant Yadav grabbed Agarwal’s prized scalp.
There were two rain interruptions, the longest being about two hours just before the final session, when South needed 32 runs with Ricky Bhui (34; 29b) and Tilak Varma (25; 19b) having great guns.
With five wickets intact, South had one leg in the final, but they faced some anxious moments as they knew North would make the cut thanks to their three-run lead in the first innings if there was no further play.
But play resumed and more drama ensued as Rana and Baltej’s double 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 took a neat 3/28 to dismiss North for 211 in their second essay, played the role of finisher with an unbeaten 15 including two pressure sixes.
South resumed the final day at 21 without a loss and started briskly with Agarwal racing to 24 from 19 balls.
Desperate for a break of the opening partnership, North skipper brought in Yadav Arora, and the change in bowling worked as he accounted for Sai Sudharsan (17) after an opening stand of 44 runs.
The dismissal halted the run-flow as Agarwal slowed down and the strike rate fell below 100 for the first time in his innings.
Arora struck again when he imprisoned Samarth R for five to keep North Zone’s meager hopes alive.
But what followed was a counter-attack from skipper Vihari and Agarwal who added 59 runs in 40 deliveries.
Rain then added some drama to the chase.
With South on 68 for two and Agarwal on 35, the rain was broken for the first time ahead of the lunch break.
The drizzle continued as they took an early lunch break with South still needing 147 runs.
The rain stopped and in the session after lunch, Vihari and Agarwal continued where they left off.
Just when it looked like Agarwal and Vihari were in control, Yadav fired the former immediately after completing his half-century.
In a time span of 23 runs, South skipper Vihari also followed suit and failed to capitalize on his good start.
On a climax after his first national call-up for the West Indies T20I series, Varma came in and took the charge.
With dark clouds looming, Bhui and Varma’s aggressive intent was anticipated and the duo brought the target below 50 in no time.
Just before the tea break there was another rain delay and South needed 32 runs to win.
Watching the fickle weather, Rana used a number of tactics to delay play, even when South had the upper hand.
But Bhui and Varma went off in successive overs, adding nothing to the total with South 24 runs shy of target.
Rana created a lead and Prabhsimran Singh did the rest behind the stumps.
The seventh wicket tumbled as Rana caused a nick from Washington Sundar. KV Sasikanth hit Rana for a six before being dismissed by Baltej.
With North on the move, Vijaykumar Vyshak put up some resistance and withstood three deliveries from Baltej before 26-year-old Sai Kishore sealed the matter with a six on Yadav.
Short 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 two wickets.
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