Bengaluru: The strength of the Central Zone team lay in flashes of individual batting brilliance on the penultimate day of their Duleep Trophy semifinal against West Zone here on Saturday. At the BCCI Centre of Excellence, most of the Central batters looked settled enough to go past the three-figure mark, yet none managed to cross it. Still, their collective effort was enough to put West on the back foot and secure the first-innings honours. Responding to West’s 438, Central reached 556/8 in 157 overs with a crucial 118-run lead. Shardul Thakur and his men will now need something extraordinary on a placid surface to halt Central’s march into the final. Resuming from their overnight score of 229/2, Shubham Sharma (96; 241b; 11×4) and captain Rajat Patidar (77; 84b; 14×4) got down to business quickly. Patidar, needing three runs to complete his half-century, brought it up by dispatching Thakur through covers for a boundary. His form continued as he struck four boundaries in a single Tanush Kotian over. Sharma, meanwhile, played the steady hand as the pair added 55 runs in the first 10 overs of the morning. But the 127-run partnership ended when Patidar lost his stumps attempting a sweep against Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (4/101). Central suffered another blow when Yash Rathod fell cheaply to Jadeja, with Ruturaj Gaikwad taking a sharp catch at first slip. Sharma, who had slowed after Patidar’s dismissal, was run out on 96 while attempting a quick single, undone by a direct hit from Kotian. The middle and lower order kept the momentum going. Upendra Yadav (87; 181b; 8×4, 2×6), Harsh Dubey (75; 93b; 13×4) and Deepak Chahar (33) frustrated West, whose bowlers toiled without much reward despite using eight different options. A brief rain interruption delayed play, but Central finished firmly in control.South stay in the race The other semifinal between South and North had plenty of drama on Day 3. Replying to South’s imposing first-innings total of 536, North stumbled early as Gurjapneet Singh (3/67) removed skipper Ankit Kumar and the in-form Yash Dhull within the first hour. Ayush Badoni (40) provided some stability before Shubham Khajuria (128 not out; 245b; 20×4, 1×6) and Nishant Sindhu (82; 148b; 9×4, 1×6) took charge. The pair put on a superb 171-run stand for the fourth wicket, dominating the South attack for much of the day. However, South clawed back late in the evening. Sindhu’s uppercut off Gurjapneet was caught in the deep by substitute Shaik Rasheed, and Kanhaiya Wadhawan was run out without scoring soon after. At stumps, North were 278/5 in 79 overs, still trailing by 258 runs, leaving the contest delicately poised heading into the final day.Brief scores: West Zone: 438 vs Central Zone (O/n: 229/2) 556/8 in 157 overs (Ayush Pandey 40, Danish Malewar 76, Shubham Sharma 96, Rajat Patidar 77, Upendra Yadav 87, Harsh Dubey 75, Saransh Jain 37*, Deepak Chahar 33; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 4-101). South Zone: 536 vs North Zone 278/5 in 79 overs (Shubham Khajuria 128*, Ayush Badoni 40, Nishant Sindhu 82; Gurjapneet Singh 3-67).
