BENGALURU: Clouds over the M Chinnaswamy stadium and interim showers ensured only 49 overs of play were possible on Day 2 of South Zone's Duleep Trophy semifinal against North Zone. Given the depth in the South Zone's batting lineup, surpassing North Zone's first-innings tally of 198 was never a tall order. But they folded up for 195, handing North a three-run innings lead.
North were 51/2 in 11 overs, with a crucial lead of 54 runs, when bad light stopped play. Overnight batters Mayank Agarwal (76, 115b; 10x4) and Tilak Varma (46, 101b; 5x4; 1x6) held the innings together with their well-paced 110-run partnership. The onus was on the duo to steer their team to safety, but the first to head back to the pavilion was Agarwal, poking a short ball from left-arm spinner Jayant Yadav (3/38) to Ankit Kumar at forward short leg in the third over after lunch.
