: It took South Zone just 8.4 overs spread over 45 minutes to finish the job on hand on the third day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal here. The defeat by an innings and 118 runs should go down as one of the worst suffered by East Zone in a match where it failed to reach the triple-figure scores in both innings.
Resuming at 30 for four and needing another 150 runs to make South Zone bat again, East Zone folded at 62 in the second innings.
With Wriddhiman Saha not available to bat after suffering a web-tear, East lost five wickets for the addition of 32 runs in an innings that lasted 23.4 overs.
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Medium-pacer H.S. Sharath took three wickets and two run-outs ended East’s woes.
Laxmi Ratan Shukla, dropped by Karun Nair at first slip off Manish Pandey in the day’s opening over, did not hurt South.
The flashy all-rounder departed two overs later after miscuing a lofted straight-drive off Sharath.
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Saurabh Tiwary, centurion here against West Zone last week, was run out after looking good to retain his crease at the non-striker’s end.
After being sent back by Natraj Behera, Tiwary was slow in putting his bat down and Pragyan Ojha broke the stumps. Varun Aaron and Behera hit a boundary each but looked vulnerable.
Though Stuart Binny could not add to his tally of three wickets, Sharath hastened the end by scalping Basant Mohanty and Ashoke Dinda in the space of three deliveries.
Sharath, who finished with four wickets for 27 runs, helped himself to three for 11 on this day.
South now travels to New Delhi to play the winner of the on-going North-Central semifinal in the five-day final beginning on October 29.
The scores :
South Zone — 1st innings : 264.
East Zone — 1st innings : 84.
East Zone — 2nd innings : Govinda Podder b Binny 4, Sudip Chatterjee c Nair b Binny 5, Rana Dutta lbw b Binny 0, Manoj Tiwary c Rahul b Sharath 8, Saurabh Tiwary (run out) 13, Laxmi Ratan Shukla c Aparajith b Sharath 18, Natraj Behera (not out) 6, Varun Aaron (run out) 7, Basant Mohanty b Sharath 0, Ashoke Dinda c and b Sharath 0, Wriddhiman Saha (did not bat); Extras (lb-1) 1; Total (in 23.4 overs): 62.
Fall of wickets : 1-9, 2-9, 3-14, 4-18, 5-43, 6-49, 7-62, 8-62 9-62.
South Zone bowling : Mithun 4-2-6-0, Binny 9-3-23-3, Sharath 7.4-0-27-4, Manish Pandey 3-2-5-0.
Man of the Match : Robin Uthappa.