Central Zone gave a clinical performance to beat South Zone by four wickets in the Deodhar Trophy at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here on Sunday.
The win helped Central set up a semifinal clash with North Zone on Tuesday.
There may not have been any individual brilliance from the Central camp, but the team played like a unit to get the better of its formidable opponent. After restricting the strong South batting line-up to 194, Central adopted a steady approach to overhaul the target with nine balls to spare.
Rash batting
Few could blame South captain Subramaniam Badrinath when he showed his positive intent by opting to bat first. Little did he know that rash batting against some good bowling by Central seamers would let his team down.
Dinesh Karthik (89, 115b, 8x4, 1x6) and S. Anirudha (53, 81b, 2x4, 1x6) applied themselves on a slower track to rescue South, which was tottering at 51 for four.
They complemented each other well and kept the scoreboard active with some smart running. The two added 113 runs for the fifth wicket to help South post a fighting total.
Karthik had better control over the situation. He started off slowly and played some well-timed shots as soon as he realized that the South ship had steadied. He was the last man to depart while trying a big hit off R.P. Singh.
Anirudha also impressed in his sedate knock before falling in his bid to improvise off Shrikant Wagh. South's lower order batsmen failed to capitalize on the good work of Karthik and Anirudha as the innings folded up within 45 overs.
Double blow
Earlier, South was pushed to the back foot after Rajasthan pacer Pankaj Singh delivered a double blow scalping Murali Vijay and Manish Pandey in consecutive deliveries.
It really pinned down the side, which had already lost Robin Uthappa. South's woes were compounded when Badrinath paid the price for his casual running between wickets.
Other than Pankaj's contribution, R.P. Singh and Wagh's wicket-taking efforts and left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma's containing act benefited Central.
The run chase was a calculated affair for Central. Since the target was not big, the batsmen concentrated on staying at the crease and did not panic in case a wicket fell.
Notable stand
The first notable partnership, worth 43 runs for the third wicket, was between Parvinder Singh (50, 79b, 3x4, 1x6) and Amit Paunikar (22, 36b, 2x4).
Parvinder then stood for another crucial stand of 47 runs with Ravi Jangid (43 not out, 53b, 4x4, 1x6) for the fifth wicket. Parvinder's was a laboured innings in which he gathered most of his runs, including some off mishits, in the fine-leg region. However, his unwavering focus held the key.
By the time he fell to Abhimanyu Mithun, Parvinder had made things easier for his team mates. Most of the South bowlers lacked the sting while defending a sub-200 total.
The scores:
South Zone: R. Uthappa c S. Wagh b R.P. Singh 9, M. Vijay b Pankaj Singh 13, S. Badrinath (run out) 10, M. Pandey b Pankaj Singh 0, D. Karthik c A. Sharma b R.P. Singh 89, S. Anirudha b S. Wagh 53, S. Jakati (run out) 0, Vinay Kumar c A. Wakhare b S. Wagh 1, A. Mithun b S. Wagh 8, P. Ojha b R.P. Singh 0, S. Arvind (not out) 1, Extras (lb-7, nb-2, wd-1) 10, Total (all out, 44.5 overs) 194.
Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-23, 3-23, 4-51, 5-164, 6-164, 7-168, 8-192, 9-193.
Central Zone bowling: R.P. Singh 8.5-0-40-3, Pankaj Singh 8-1-29-2, S. Wagh 10-1-44-3, Ankit Sharma 8-0-17-0, A. Wakhare 5-0-28-0, R. Jangid 5-0-29-0.
Central Zone: N. Ojha c M. Pandey b A. Mithun 19, S. Khanolkar c D. Karthik b A. Mithun 10, A. Paunikar lbw b P. Ojha 22, Parvinder Singh c S. Arvind b A. Mithun 50, A. Menaria c A. Mithun b P. Ojha 5, R. Jangid (not out) 43, Ankit Sharma c S. Jakati b S. Arvind 24, S. Wagh (not out) 9, Extras (b-4, lb-1, nb-1, wd-7) 13, Total (for six wickets, 48.3 overs) 195.
Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-37, 3-80, 4-86, 5-133, 6-175.
South Zone bowling: Vinay Kumar 9-1-39-0, A. Mithun 10-2-25-3, S. Arvind 9-0-39-1, Ojha 10-1-24-2, Jakati 7.3-0-51-0, S. Badrinath 3-0-12-0.
