Riding on performances from discarded Indian players, South Zone on Saturday booked their spot in the final of the Duleep Trophy 2023. Mayank Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari displayed fine knocks as they helped South Zone down 215 in the chase against North Zone in the second semifinal in Bengaluru. Notably, West Zone also bagged a win and a place in the final after a win in a rain-affected match against Central Zone.
South Zone's 2-wicket win over North
In the second semifinal, South Zone edged past North as the match went down the wire in the latter stages. The rain affected the match at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru but the weather gods provided enough space in the final session to bring a result. South needed 24 runs and had 5 wickets in hand but they lost a few in bunches to make the contest spicy. Agarwal's 54 off 57 and Hanuma Vihari's 43 from 42 balls helped South make strong partnerships.
Meanwhile, in the end, R Sai Kishore's 15 from 11 balls after a few handy contributions came from Ricky Bhui (34 from 29) and Tilak Varma (25 off 19).
West Zone's match was drawn but they still qualify
Despite the match ending in a draw due to rain, West Zone qualified for the finals, courtesy of their first innings lead in the first innings. Central Zone were handed a daunting 390-run target but they were jolted with regular blows before the heaven gates opened.
Rinku Singh displayed a sign of resistance with his 30-ball 40 but it was a one-way traffic otherwise. Central Zone lost 4 wickets for 128 before rain came down. Earlier, Cheteshwar Pujara's ton helped West hit 297. In the first innings, West Zone made 220 first and in reply Central Zone were folded for just 128.
The final will be played between West and South and the match is set to be played from July 12 onwards.
Notably, both Agarwal and Vihari are currently out of India's team from a long time and were not considered for the upcoming Test series vs West Indies.
