Bengaluru: The moment of the day came during the fag end of the first session when Karnataka’s Smaran R took a ripper moving to his right at first slip off State-mate Shreyas Gopal’s (1/24) bowling to dismiss Abdul Samad (16, 19b, 2×4, 1×6).
On either side of Smaran’s brilliance, South were clumsy, putting down a few chances and missing an easy run-out.
Despite this largesse on the field, pacer Vidwath Kaverappa (4/66) stamped his class in his second spell while Tanay Thyagarajan (2/31) and M D Nidheesh (2/36) banked on consistent lines and lengths to get amongst wickets as South Zone bundled out North for 195 in 59.1 overs to take early control of the Duleep Trophy semifinals at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence here on Sunday.
In reply, South Zone reached 40/2 in 18 overs with Narayan Jagadeesan (34 not out, 58b) and captain Tilak Varma (1 not out, 3b) batting in the middle when the umpires called time at 5.00 pm.
South Zone cut down the deficit to 155 runs as India internationals Arshdeep Singh (0/19), Anshul Kamboj (1/9) and Gurnoor Brar (1/12) tested their edges on a couple of occasions with the sun playing hide and seek.
Kamboj and Brar managed to inflict damage as they picked Ricky Bhui (5, 39b) and Shaik Rasheed (0, 8b) respectively.
Skipper Kanhaiya Wadhawan (35, 63b, 3×4) winning the toss and a few lapses from South fielders were the only fortunes that went North’s way. While it was not a bad choice to bat first, North batters’ application was questionable.
On a not-so-difficult track to bat, it was the Karnataka quick who made all the noises, returning with a four-wicket haul, his fifth in 55 innings. While Vidwath (7-1-38-0) was not at his best in his first spell, he bagged four wickets in his second spell (8-2-28-4).
Nidheesh (5-2-13-1) repeatedly went to the channel outside off stump in the first hour, made the batsmen play, and kept them unsure which one to go after. The plan eventually paved the way for the first wicket in the sixth over.
Sanat Sangwan (10), recalled into the North side for the semifinal, was caught and bowled by Nidheesh. Kavuri Saiteja (1/24) tested Ayush Doseja (23, 30b, 5×4) with tight lines and decent pace, and found some luck going his way when the latter tickled one down to the keeper.
Ayush Badoni (2, 6b), who scored twin-fifties in the quarters, was sent back early by Tanay.
In the face of a good bowling display, Jammu and Kashmir’s Qamran Iqbal (76, 182b, 10×4, 1×6) stood firm, but never looked settled throughout his stay.
Qamran and Kanhaiya took their time and frustrated South by adding 66 runs together, slowing down South’s momentum. At one point, it seemed like the game was moving at a rapid pace with North four down for 104 in 33 overs.
Vidwath, on his comeback spell, picked Qamran, Nishant Sindhu (5), Abid Mushtaq (1) and Kamboj (2).
South Zone head coach Vikram Verma came under the spotlight after taking a shock decision to bench India international Karun Nair, who had scored 699 runs last season.
In the other semifinal, Bengal’s Mukesh Kumar (3/56) and Tripura’s Abhijith Sarkar (3/36) helped East Zone bowl out Rajat Patidar’s Central for 266 in 80.1 overs.
Brief scores: North Zone: 195 all out in 59.1 overs (Qamran Iqbal 76, Kanhaiya Wadhawan 35; Vidwath Kaverappa 4-66, MD Nideesh 2-36, Tanay Thyagarajan 2-31) vs South Zone: 40/2 in 18 overs (Narayan Jagadeesan 34 n.o.).
Central Zone: 266 all out in 80.1 overs (Aryan Juyal 46, Yash Rathod 27, Rinku Singh 60, Harsh Dubey 27, Yash Thakur 30; Mohammed Shami 2-42, Mukesh Kumar 3-56, Abhijith Sarkar 3-38) vs East Zone.