Legspinner M Suresh took six Central Zone wickets during an extended spell to seal South Zone's berth in the semi-finals of the Duleep Trophy. Central were faced with the ardous task of scoring 381 in 77 overs and the aggressive approach of their batsmen
Having gained a narrow first-innings lead early in the day, South Zone consolidated in their second to finish the penultimate day with a semi-final spot all but assured
Piyush Chawla and Murali Kartik had a horror day with the ball on Thursday, but their streaky, quickfire 57-run eighth-wicket stand put Central within touching distance of the all-important first-innings lead after the second day against South Zone in Ban
Dinesh Karthik led South Zone to a dramatic recovery in the second session where 188 runs were added for the loss of two wickets as compared to the first session where six wickets fell for 106
Rahul Dravid played the sort of knock that made him the world's most bankable batsman a few years ago, displaying the confidence, ease and solidity that were once second nature to him
Sreesanth's first bowling stint in the spotlight since last year's IPL was a typically entertaining mix of the sublime and the surreal
Karthik's 113-ball 153 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium that bumped Central Zone from being front-runners to playing catch-up; from 86 for 6, South Zone rocketed along to a more-than-acceptable 290 for 8 by the time he was dismissed
Match home for the Duleep Trophy game between South Zone and Central Zone
