Bengaluru: Tilak Varma’s South Zone romped home with seven wickets in the kitty to march into their second successive final at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence here on Wednesday.
Set up by a blend of aggression and composure, the chase was sealed with a four by skipper Tilak (51 n.o., 79b, 4×8) as South Zone, chasing 181, replied with 182/3 at the fag end of the second session.
They will now fly to Chennai to meet Ishan Kishan’s East Zone in the final at the M A Chidambaram Stadium from September 6-10. However, it remains to be seen if Kishan, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Tilak will be part of the game, with India kicking off their Afghanistan T20I series on September 13.
Player of the match Tilak remained unbeaten throughout the semifinal, scoring 116 not out in the first innings, and he was joined by Karnataka’s Smaran R (32 n.o., 42b, 4×4, 6×1), as the duo stitched an unbeaten 80-run stand to shape the victory.
There was a sense of inevitability about the day, and South also benefitted from an array of misfields from the opposition. The intent from South though was clear, as they wiped off 72 runs in 20 overs before lunch.
Having batted for all four days, Tilak seemed to understand the conditions better and played with patience, before cutting loose.
He smashed two boundaries off Anshul Kamboj (0/22) to stamp his authority, and then raised his aggressive intent reverse-sweeping and scooping Abid Mushtaq (2/55) in the 35th over.
Meanwhile, Smaran showed his attacking nature early on, but kept finding the fielders. He pocketed easy singles and then put away the bad balls to the fence. Openers Narayan Jagadeesan (43, 83b) and Ricky Bhui (42, 53b) also played their part in the chase before walking back.
Jagadeesan was also dropped on 14 by Kanhaiya Wadhawan off Gurnoor Brar (1/22), who was livid at his captain.
Earlier, with Anshul Kamboj (36) and Nishant Sindhu (35) swinging at everything, there was an expectation that the combination would be broken momentarily. M D Nidheesh’s (5/56) discipline to keep bowling straight lines was duly rewarded with scalps of Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh and Kamboj. The Kerala man registered his tenth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
Vidwath hurt
Karnataka’s Vidwath Kaverappa walked off the field injured on the third day, and was seen on the ground clutching his left leg in pain. However, Tilak is hopeful that the pacer will feature in the final.
“Vidwath’s ankle is slightly swollen, but he can walk. He is also running with a tape. We will get to know by tomorrow afternoon, I think as a captain I am feeling he will be there in finals,” Tilak said.
Brief scores: North Zone: 195 all out & (O/n: 256/7): 297 all out in 72.4 overs (Sanat Sangwan 76, Ayush Doseja 52, Ayush Badoni 31, Nishant Sindhu 35, Anshul Kamboj 36; MD Nidheesh 5-56, Kavuri Saiteja 2-57, Shreyas Gopal 2-86) vs South Zone: 312 all out & 182/3 in 43.1 overs (Richy Bhui 42, Narayan Jagadeesan 43, Tilak Varma 51 n.o., Smaran R 32 n.o.). PoM: Tilak Varma. Next match: Final vs East Zone (September 6).