Central Zone lost their last wicket to the final ball of the day, and North Zone did not last 60 overs

Both Duleep Trophy semi-finals started on Sunday at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, on adjacent grounds, and in both of them the side that batted first was bowled out inside the day. Central Zone made 266 against East Zone on Ground 1. North Zone managed 195 against South Zone on Ground 2, and by stumps South Zone had lost two wickets in reply.

Rinku Singh’s 60, and a last wicket that survived until the final ball

East Zone won the toss and bowled, which looked like the right call for most of the afternoon. Central Zone were 63 for 3 when Rajat Patidar was bowled by Mukesh Kumar for 12 off 41 balls, and 99 for 4 in the 40th over, by which point Aryan Juyal had spent 113 balls over 46.

Rinku Singh was the one batter who scored at something close to a normal rate. He made 60 off 88 with eight fours, reached his fifty in 71 balls, and added 50 in 60 balls with Harsh Dubey for the sixth wicket. That stand ended at 180, and Central Zone were 221 for 9 not long after.

What saved the innings was the last pair. Yash Thakur hit six fours in a 26-ball 30 and added 45 with Aryan Pandey, who batted 46 balls for 22. East Zone took the second new ball at the start of the 81st over, and Abhijit Sarkar had Pandey caught by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi with the day’s final delivery.

Mohammed Shami bowled 16 overs and finished with 2 for 42. Mukesh Kumar took 3 for 56, Sarkar 3 for 38 from 16.1 overs with six maidens, and Md Kounain Quraishi 2 for 49 on first-class debut. East Zone’s other point of interest was behind the stumps: Ishan Kishan captained and kept, then handed the gloves to Kumar Kushagra from the 19th over.

Kaverappa’s four wickets, and North Zone folding for 195

On the next field over, North Zone chose to bat and did not see out 60 overs. Qamran Iqbal held one end for 182 balls and 76 runs, ten fours and a six, and his fifth-wicket stand of 66 with Kanhaiya Wadhawan was the only partnership that went anywhere. Wadhawan made 35 before Tanay Thyagarajan bowled him.

From 161 for 5, North Zone lost their last five wickets for 34. Vidwath Kaverappa took 4 for 66, Thyagarajan 2 for 31 from 18 overs with seven maidens, and MD Nidheesh 2 for 36. Arshdeep Singh finished 10 not out off two balls, a four and a six, which is roughly the only entertainment the innings offered after tea.

South Zone then lost Ricky Bhui for 5 off 39 to Anshul Kamboj and Shaik Rasheed for an eight-ball duck to Gurnoor Brar. Narayan Jagadeesan is 34 not out off 58 with six fours, Tilak Varma has faced three balls, and South Zone closed on 40 for 2, still 155 behind.

Where both matches stand

Neither semi-final has produced a first-innings lead yet, and in a four-day knockout that number decides things. Central Zone went through to last season’s final on first-innings lead after their semi-final against West Zone was drawn, which is why both sides here will treat the first innings as the match rather than the start of it. East Zone begin Monday needing to bat past 266 with Sooryavanshi and Abhimanyu Easwaran at the top. South Zone need 156 more with eight wickets in hand.

Central Zone and South Zone are both playing their first match of the tournament, having been seeded straight into the semi-finals as last season’s finalists. The winners here meet from 6 September at Chepauk in Chennai, the final having been moved out of the Bengaluru campus.

Follow every day of the Duleep Trophy semi-finals