Captain Tilak Varma hit an unbeaten 106 to be the fulcrum of the South Zone innings as they surpassed North Zone’s first-innings total in the other Duleep Trophy semi-final in Bengaluru on Monday.
At Stumps on Day II, South, in response to North’s 195, have reached 285/9 with a sizeable lead of 90 so far.
Alongside centurion Tilak, Karnataka leg-spinner all-rounder Shreyas Gopal contributed a well-made 87, which too was crucial in enabling South to go past their opponents’ first-innings total.
Taking the lead appeared quite difficult for South when they resumed on 40/2 on Monday. In the first hour, they lost three wickets for 40-odd to be languishing at 80/5.
Gopal then joined skipper Tilak, and the duo ensured to avert further danger as they took the team total to 113/5 at Lunch.
Thereafter, Tilak and Gopal did most of the things correctly to extend their partnership to three figures and eventually forge a 175-run stand for the sixth wicket. That not just helped South to a lead but could also turn out to be game-changing.
Tilak, bringing up his eighth first-class ton, has hit seven boundaries so far, while Gopal’s innings contained 11 fours. Pacer Gurnoor Brar has taken four wickets for North.
Brief scores: North Zone 195. South Zone 285/9 (Tilak Varma 106 batting, Shreyas Gopal 87; Gurnoor Brar 4/70). At Stumps, Day II.