South Zone suffer top-order implosion after Kaverappa fifer

West Zone vs Central Zone

A fighting half-century by Atit Sheth led West Zone's revival on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal clash against Central Zone in Alur. The bowling all-rounder's 74 included nine boundaries and a six to help his side to 216 for 8.

Electing to bat, West Zone made a slow but steady start. However, Prithvi Shaw's dismissal - a catch at silly point that the batter contended even after the umpire's decision - off Saurabh Kumar's left-arm spin triggered a collapse. Shivam Mavi returned for his second spell and snared three wickets to leave West Zone reeling at 65 for 5 before they were further reduced to 110 for 6. Sheth then combined with Dharendrasinh Jadeja to bail the team out from a precarious position with a 73-run stand for the seventh wicket.

Mavi finished the day with four wickets. None of the India hopefuls, from West Zone - Shaw, Priyank Panchal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suryakumar Yadav and Sarfaraz Khan - made a noteworthy contribution with the bat.

Brief Scores: West Zone 216/8 (Atit Sheth 74, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 39; Shivam Mavi 4-43) vs Central Zone

South Zone vs North Zone

Harshit Rana and Baltej Singh ripped through South Zone's top order late on Day 1 to leave them reeling at 63 for 4 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal clash. The pacers picked two wickets apiece, which included Hanuma Vihari and Ricky Bhui departing without scoring.

Earlier in the day, Vidwath Kaverappa's fifer had bundled out North Zone for 198 after Hanuma Vihari had elected to field. Barring a 79-run stand between Prabhsimran Singh and Ankit Kumar, there wasn't much resistance from the North Zone batters. Harshit Rana scored a breezy 22-ball 31, which included four boundaries and two sixes, but couldn't help the side to a respectable total on an overcast day.

Brief Scores: North Zone 198 (Prabhsimran Singh 49, Ankit Kumar 33; Vidwath Kaverappa 5-28, KV Sasikanth 2-52) lead South Zone 63/4 (Mayank Agarwal 37*; Harshit Rana 2-19, Baltej Singh 2-21) by 135 runs