Duleep trophy semifinal: North Zone has its task cut out against strong South Zone

A robust South Zone takes on North Zone within the Duleep Trophy semifinal which commences on the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium right here on Wednesday.

Skipper Hanuma Vihari, Mayank Agarwal, B. Sai Sudarshan and Tilak Varma kind the core of the South Zone batting. Tamil Nadu southpaw Pradosh Ranjan Paul, who has had a fantastic begin to his First-Class profession, will look to get among the many runs.

Washington Sundar, who has performed for India in all three codecs, is a risk with bat and ball.

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On the bowling entrance, Karnataka’s V. Kaverappa and V. Vyshak are prone to share the brand new ball. The duo have impressed within the earlier home season, with Kaverappa particularly shining by way of together with his skill to maintain an ideal line and size.

Ok.V. Sasikanth, who picked up 29 wickets in seven matches for Andhra within the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy, is the third tempo possibility.

Left-arm finger-spinner R. Sai Kishore could be a risk when the pitch wears down.

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On paper, the aspect holds no weak spot.

“We have a good balanced side. We have quality bowlers and a good mix of youngsters and experienced batters like Mayank (Agarwal) and I. In the Duleep Trophy, you expect every match to be a tight contest,” Vihari said after a coaching session right here on Tuesday.

North, which took out minnow North East within the quarterfinal held on the identical venue a couple of days in the past, faces a stiff problem. Dhruv Shorey, Nishant Sindhu and big-hitting decrease order batter Harshit Rana, centurions from the earlier outing, lead the cost.

Offspinner Pulkit Narang took a seven-wicket match-haul in opposition to North East, and can play on the persistence of the South Zone batters together with his nagging accuracy.