A 104-run first innings lead against Plate 'C' gave them the title.
Plate 'B' face the daunting task of making another 188 runs through the last wicket pair to deny Elite 'C' the title.
Mumbai youngster Suryakumar Yadav hit a sparkling century under pressure to guide West Zone to a respectable 299 for 7 in the Duleep Trophy match against East Zone, in Valsad, on Friday.
It was purely a 'Batsman's Evening' with Tamil Nadu opener Abhinav Mukund and talented Bengal boy Sudeep Chatterjee's twin tons took India Red to a commanding 354-run lead against India Green on the second day of the Duleep Trophy on Wednesday in Greater Noida. After the bowlers ruled the roost with 17 wickets on the first day, it was the turn of southpaws Abhinav (162 batting, 212 balls) and Sudeep (114, 182 balls) to conjure up a 240-run partnership for the second wicket.
The BCCI working committe cleared their participation as the sixth team in the tournament.
Defending champions North Zone defeated East Zone by a huge margin of 433 runs to enter the final of the Duleep Trophy in Rajkot on Thursday.
Indian cricket's 2023-24 domestic season will kick-start with the Duleep Trophy tournament
Openers Abhinav Mukund and Robin Uthappa bulldozed the North Zone bowlers to script a brilliant run chase as South Zone clinched the Duleep Trophy with a day to spare in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
South Zone produced solid batting to take control of the final against North, reaching 298 for three on the second day of the Duleep trophy match in Viaskhapatnam on Thursday. Three South Zone batsmen -- Robin Uthappa (66), S Badrinath (97 not out) and Manish Pandey (74) -- smashed individual half-centuries as they posted a solid reply to North's first innings total of 337 in 70 overs.
Abhinav Mukund (164) and Amit Verma (148) struck hundreds as South Zone inched towards an outright win over Central Zone at the end of third day's play in the semi-final of the Duleep Trophy cricket tournament in Hyderabad on Friday. Needing 770 runs to win, Central Zone were precariously placed at 73 for two in their second innings at stumps on the penultimate day of the four-day match.
Persistent rain washed out the opening day's play of the Duleep Trophy final match between Central Zone and East Zone without a ball being bowled in Chennai, on Sunday.
Usually, taking two wickets against a strong North Zone would leave any 17-year-old bowler with a wide smile. But Jotin Singh's smile had a tinge of nervousness.
Hanuma Vihari remained unbeaten on 86, while Suresh Raina made a strokeful 52 as India Blue reached 216 for three in reply to India Red's 383 all out on the second day of the Duleep Trohpy match, in Kanpur on Thursday.
Gujarat opener Priyank Panchal started off his new season with a patient 105 in India's Red's none too impressive 232 for 5 as Murali Vijay and Karun Nair surprised one and all sharing bulk of the spoils for India Green on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy.
Bengal's left-arm spinner Iresh Saxena and part-time leg-break bowler Anustup Majumdar shared nine wickets amongst themselves as East Zone won their second successive Duleep Trophy title beating Central Zone by virtue of 43-run first innings lead.
Indian opener Virender Sehwag will lead the 15-member North Zone team in their Duleep Trophy match against West Zone scheduled to be held early next month at Chennai, the selectors said.
Yuvraj Singh feels it moved a bit more than SG Test ball while Robin Uthappa's observations varied from colour change to lack of reverse swing as the first set of inputs on the much talked about 'Pink ball' Day-Night experiment in the Duleep Trophy came to the fore.
Opener Tanmay Srivastava kept Central Zone's hopes of Duleep Trophy title alive with a patient 46 not out as his side ended the fourth day of the summit clash against East Zone at 74 for two in their first innings in Chennai on Wednesday.
North Zone advanced to the semi-finals of the Duleep Trophy cricket tournament by virtue of their 320-run first innings lead as the inconsequential fourth and final day's play ended with West Zone losing two wickets in their second essay in Chennai.
Paras Dogra struck a strokeful half century as North Zone piled on a big total of 484 in their first innings to place themselves in a commanding position on the second day of the four-day Duleep Trophy quarter-final match against West Zone in Chennai on Sunday.
In-form chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav led India Red's fightback with a four-wicket burst to reduce India Blue to 200 for five on another rain-hit day in the Duleep Trophy in Greater Noida on Tuesday. Gautam Gambhir (77) and Mayank Agarwal (92) missed out on centuries before Yadav's sublime spell brought the match alive after a chunk of second day's play was lost due to rain, much like the opening day at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground. After 34.2 overs on day one, 27.4 overs were possible in the match played with pink ball and under lights.
The experienced West Zone team will take on a relatively young East Zone in the Duleep Trophy final starting on Saturday
Ranji Trophy winners, who currently get a cheque of Rs 2 crore, will be receiving Rs 5 crore, while the runners-up and losing semi-finalists will get Rs 3 crores and Rs 1 crore respectively.
The match coincides with the three-day camp for the Indian team to prepare for the seven-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.
S Badrinath celebrated his India call-up with a fluent 82, while Manish Pandey and R Ashwin also struck half-centuries as South Zone thumped Central Zone by five wickets to sail into the final of the Duleep Trophy in Indore on Friday.
The Indian captain is uncertain for the Duleep Trophy match between East Zone and Central Zone on February 15 due to a side strain.
The BCCI's Tours and Programmes and Fixtures Committee felt an NCA team lacks the experience to play at the inter-zonal tournament.
The left arm seamer has been advised by team physio John Gloster rest his side strain.
On August 9, the Mumbai batter had made a magnificent 244 off 153 balls and that innings contained 28 boundaries and 11 sixes to guide Northamptonshire to an 87-run win over Somerset.
Wriddhiman Saha continued in his rich vein of form and struck a brilliant 170, which put East Zone in a commanding position against Central Zone at stumps, on the second day of the Duleep Trophy final in Indore, on Monday. Replying to Central's meagre 133, East were all out for 370 in their first innings, a sizeable lead of 237 runs.
The Central Zone vs Bangladesh match scheduled to be held in Jaipur from March 1, would now be held at the Railways ground in Delhi.
East Zone turned in a disciplined all-round performance to beat West by five wickets and make it to the semi-finals of the Duleep Trophy, in Valsad, on Monday. East will meet North in the semi-final, scheduled to be played in Delhi from February 4.
The Indian captain who is nursing a side strain has been advised rest by doctors.
Taking a cue from the success of the first Day-Night Test in Adelaide last year, the Tour and Program Fixtures Committee has recommended to the BCCI Technical panel to consider organising the Duleep Trophy matches with pink ball.
Avesh Khan hogged the limelight with his maiden first class half-century
Ramesh Powar wrecked South Zone with a 10-wicket match haul as West Zone lifted their 17th Duleep Trophy title after overwhelming the hosts by 274 runs in the five-day final in Chennai on Monday.
West Zone took command of the Duleep Trophy final after scoring 459 in the first innings and then reducing South Zone to 106 for 4 by stumps on the second day of the five-day match in Chennai on Friday. Skipper Subramaniam Badrinath, who was unbeaten on 54 at stumps, holds the key to South's fortunes. Keeping him company at stumps was Dinesh Karthik on 5. Earlier, West, resuming at the overnight score of 303-5, were dismissed for 459.
Disciplined bowling performance by medium pacer Laxmipathy Balaji and leg spinner M Suresh helped South Zone to thrash North Zone by a huge margin of 411 on the fourth and final day of four-day Duleep Trophy semi-final played in Rajkot on Sunday.
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