Bengaluru, August 31, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
South Zone captain Tilak Varma struck an unbeaten century, while Shreyas Gopal narrowly missed out on a hundred as South ended Day 2 of their Duleep Trophy semifinal against North Zone in a commanding position at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2 here on Monday.
Tilak, India’s T20I vice-captain, remained unbeaten on 106 off 225 balls at stumps, guiding South to 285/9 and a 90-run lead after North were bowled out for 195 in their first innings.
Coming in with South struggling at 39/2 after the early dismissals of Ricky Bhui (5) and Shaik Rasheed (0), Tilak anchored the innings through a difficult phase. Narayan Jagadeesan and Smaran Ravichandran also fell as Gurnoor Brar-led North reduced South to 80/5.
However, Tilak and Gopal produced a crucial counterattack, adding 175 runs for the sixth wicket. Their partnership frustrated the North bowlers and helped South recover from deep trouble to take the lead.
Gopal fell agonisingly short of his century, dismissed by Arshdeep Singh for 88 after striking 11 fours. His departure triggered another collapse, with Anshul Kamboj and Arshdeep claiming a wicket each before MD Nidheesh was run out late in the day.
Tilak held firm to register his eighth first-class century and will resume on Tuesday alongside Kavuri Saiteja, with South seeking to extend their advantage.
Earlier, South’s bowlers had dismissed North for 195 in 59.1 overs. Vidhwath Kaverappa was the pick of the attack with four wickets, while Nidheesh and Tanay Thyagarajan claimed two wickets apiece. Saiteja and Gopal took one wicket each.
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