Central Zone reply in strong fashion after West Zone’s 438

Central Zone reply in strong fashion after West Zone's 438

Led by half-centuries from Danish Malewar (76) and Shubham Sharma (60*), Central Zone offered a strong response to West Zone's first innings effort of 438. They went to stumps on 229 for 2, still trailing by 209 runs.

Earlier in the day, Tanush Kotian and Shardul Thakur extended their seventh-wicket alliance to 84 runs, with the latter bringing up his half-century. However, once Shardul was run out on 64 by Ayush Pandey, their innings collapsed quickly. Harsh Dubey snapped two wickets in quick succession, cleaning up Tanush Kotian and Arzan Nagaswalla, while Saransh Jain had Dharmendrasinh Jadeja trapped legbefore as both the spinners returned three wickets apiece in the innings.

In response, Central Zone put up a resolute effort on a surface that hasn't offered much to the bowlers. Pandey scored a breezy 40 before being sent back by Nagaswalla, but Malewar and Shubham kept the West Zone bowlers at bay for 30 overs en route their 93-run stand, before Jadeja had Malewar caught behind. Even as West Zone employed all their six frontline bowling options, that was the last of the success on the day for West Zone as Rajat Patidar and Shubham played out the remaining overs safely, adding 69 more runs to the board.

Brief Scores:
West Zone 438 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 184, Tanush Kotian 76; Harsh Dubey 3-118, Saransh Jain 3-121) lead Central Zone 229/2 (Danish Malewar 76, Shubham Sharma 60*) by 209 runs

South Zone continue dominance over North Zone

N Jagadeesan was run out three short of a double century but South Zone continued their dominance over North Zone on Day 2 in Bengaluru, piling up 536.

Resuming the day on 297 for 3, the hosts lost skipper Mohammed Azharuddeen early, but Ricky Bhui and Jagadeesan ensured a prosperous morning session, adding 87 runs for the fifth wicket before the latter was run out. North Zone bowlers kept striking at regular intervals in the post Lunch session to claw their way back, reducing South to 453 for 7 with all their batters back in the pavilion. However, South's lower order, led by a 63-run partnership by Gurjapneet Singh and Tanay Thyagarajan, frustrated the North bowlers.

The duo kept them at bay for nearly 30 overs as Thyagarajan registered his first First-Class half-century. Nishant Sindhu picked two wickets late in the day to return with a fifer but North didn't get a chance to bat even on Friday.

Brief Scores:
South Zone 536 (N Jagadeesan 197, Tanay Thyagarajan 58; Nishant Sindhu 5-125, Anshul Kamboj 2-67) vs North Zone