East Zone advance to Duleep Trophy final with four-wicket semifinal victory

East Zone secured passage to the Duleep Trophy final on Tuesday with a commanding four-wicket victory over Central Zone in their semifinal encounter. The 2012-13 season champions will face either South Zone or North Zone in the final at Chepauk, commencing on September 6.

Central Zone's second innings came to a premature close when Shami and Mukesh Kumar combined to dismantle their batting lineup. The pair shared seven wickets between them as Central was bundled out for 158, setting East a chase of 159 runs.

East's pursuit of the target proved successful despite a mid-innings wobble, with the batsmen navigating a pitch that offered increasing assistance to spinners as the match progressed. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi provided crucial impetus to the chase with a quickfire 40 off 43 balls, combining caution early in his innings with aggressive stroke-play in the latter stages. His initial 15 runs consumed 30 deliveries, but the remaining 25 came in just 13 balls, highlighted by two sixes and three boundaries.

The comprehensive nature of East Zone's performance across both departments underscores their credentials as genuine contenders for the domestic trophy.