Skipper Tilak Varma backed up his first-innings ton with an unbeaten 51 to guide South Zone to the final of the Duleep Trophy 2026.
North Zone added 41 runs to their overnight score of 256/7, having begun the day with their lead standing at 139.
Shaik Rasheed was bowled by Abid Mushtaq for 1 before Jagadeesan and Tilak took South Zone to 72/2 by Lunch.
Smaran pounced on Ayush Badoni’s offspin for a couple of boundaries of his own as the game slipped away from North Zone.
South Zone will now face East Zone in the summit clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai starting September 6, after East Zone sealed a four-wicket win over Central Zone in their semifinal on Tuesday.
Skipper Tilak Varma backed up his first-innings ton with an unbeaten 51 to guide South Zone to the final of the Duleep Trophy 2026. MD Nidheesh bagged a five-wicket haul to bowl North Zone out early on Day 4, before Tilak’s patient knock steered South Zone home by seven wickets at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2 in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
North Zone added 41 runs to their overnight score of 256/7, having begun the day with their lead standing at 139. Anshul Kamboj and Nishant Sindhu extended their partnership to 60 runs, before Kamboj was bowled by MD Nidheesh for 36. Gurnoor Brar and Arshdeep Singh struck a six each, but Nidheesh cleaned them up to finish with a five-fer as North Zone folded soon enough for 297, leaving Sindhu stranded on 35.
South Zone were set a target of 181 and began steadily on the back of a 64-run partnership between Ricky Bhui and Narayan Jagadeesan. Bhui was the aggressor between the two, striking seven fours in his 53-ball 42 before falling to Gurnoor Brar. Shaik Rasheed was bowled by Abid Mushtaq for 1 before Jagadeesan and Tilak took South Zone to 72/2 by Lunch. The duo steadied things in the second session and took South Zone past the 100-mark, before Jagadeesan handed Mushtaq his second wicket, stumped for 43.
While the door was left slightly ajar, R Smaran combined forces with Tilak to shut it for good with an unbeaten stand of 79. Tilak swiftly picked up a couple of boundaries off Kamboj and another off Mushtaq as Kanhaiya Wadhawan turned to spin from both ends. Smaran pounced on Ayush Badoni’s offspin for a couple of boundaries of his own as the game slipped away from North Zone. They soon resigned to their fate, bowling the part-time spin of Ayush Doseja and Qamran Iqbal as Tilak sealed the game with a boundary that also raised his fifty.
It was Tilak’s unbeaten 116 in the first innings that set up the victory for South Zone, after they were reduced to 80/5 in pursuit of North Zone’s 195. Tilak forged a partnership of 175 with Shreyas Gopal, who scored 87, to secure a healthy first-innings lead of 117 for South Zone. Despite fifties from Sanat Sangwan and Doseja that put the game in the balance, North Zone slipped up again with the bat on Day 3 and failed to recover from it. South Zone will now face East Zone in the summit clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai starting September 6, after East Zone sealed a four-wicket win over Central Zone in their semifinal on Tuesday.
