Tamil Nadu all-rounder R Sai Kishore produced a splendid performance, as South Zone trumped over North Zone in a rain-affected Duleep Trophy semi-final match on Sunday.
In a repeat of 2022 Duleep Trophy final, South will square off against West Zone, who drew with Central Zone earlier in the day to qualify for the summit clash.
Needing 215 runs to win, South Zone found themselves in the driver's seat with Mayank Agarwal (54) and Hanuma Vihari (43) dictating terms.
North's bowling trio of Harshit Rana, Baltej Singh and Vaibhav Arora brought their side timely breakthroughs to keep them in the hunt.
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There were two rain interruptions just before the final session, with South needing 32 more runs to win. There was also an outside chance that North would qualify should there be no further play, thanks to their 3-run lead in the first innings.
The game, however, resumed, but South suffered setbacks after setbacks, losing 4 wickets for 22 runs.
Sai Kishore, who had earlier registered figures of 3-28, took on the run-scorer's role, playing an unbeaten innings of 15 under pressure and take his team over the line.
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.
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(With inputs from PTI)
