NEW DELHI: The North Zone's bowlers displayed resilience to bowl out South Zone for 195, giving their team a narrow advantage in the match on the second day of the Duleep Trophy semifinals.
At stumps, North Zone reached 51 for 2 in their second innings, holding a lead of 54 runs. They will look to build on this platform on Day 3.
South Zone had an opportunity to post a bigger total, but they succumbed under the constant pressure exerted by the North Zone bowlers. Starting the day at 63 for 4 in pursuit of North's first-innings total of 198, South Zone faced a challenging situation. However, the presence of Mayank Agarwal and N Tilak Varma at the crease boosted South Zone's optimism of setting a substantial total.
The fifth-wicket partnership between Mayank and Tilak proved crucial as they resisted the spirited North Zone attack in challenging overhead conditions. Despite a few fortunate moments where edges fell short or the ball narrowly missed the bat, the duo accumulated 110 runs, guiding South Zone to 145 and within striking distance of North's total.
Mayank, the leading run-scorer in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season, displayed his dominance during the partnership. He quickly reached his half-century, showcasing his prowess with 30 runs off 49 balls in the morning session, including four boundaries. Based on his innings, Mayank appears poised to have another successful domestic season.
On the other hand, Tilak showed composure in his approach, marking his return to First-Class cricket after missing the previous Ranji Trophy due to injury. The left-handed batsman from Hyderabad exhibited his skills with elegant drives, particularly down the ground.
Unfortunately, both batsmen fell short of personal milestones, with Mayank departing for 76 after attempting to take on off-spinner Jayant Yadav, while Tilak was dismissed by pacer Vaibhav Arora for 46.
Their dismissals provided an opening for the North Zone bowlers, who capitalised on the opportunity, striking at regular intervals. R Sai Kishore's brief cameo of 21 seemed to provide South Zone with hopes of securing a crucial first-innings lead, but Jayant claimed his wicket to dash those aspirations.
As the match heads into the third day, North Zone will aim to extend their lead and consolidate their position, while South Zone will look to stage a fightback with their bowling attack in order to regain control of the match.
(With inputs from PTI)
