South Zoneās hopes of mounting a fightback in the Duleep Trophy final took another hit on Tuesday as veteran pacer Mohammad Shami produced two crucial breakthroughs to leave them struggling at 242 for six at stumps on Day 3 against East Zone. Captain Tilak Varma remained unbeaten on 56 off 133 balls alongside CV Milind, but South Zone still face a daunting 466-run deficit after East piled up a mammoth 708 in their first innings. With only four wickets remaining, South have a huge task ahead to avoid the follow-on, let alone stay in contention for the title.
Shami was used in short bursts throughout the day but made each spell count. The 36-year-old finished with figures of 11-4-17-2, repeatedly troubling the South Zone batters with his accuracy and movement. On a pitch where Eastās bowlers had struggled to make much of an impact over the opening two days, Shami stuck to a disciplined stump-to-stump line and rarely allowed the batters room to free their arms. His first major breakthrough came when Shaik Rasheed was looking settled alongside Devdutt Padikkal. Rasheed had made 29 and the pair had added 56 for the third wicket before Shami found the perfect line to trap him in front. The veteran pacer returned much later and struck again, removing Ravichandran Smaran after the batter had built a 45-run stand with Tilak. Shami set up the left-hander beautifully, beginning with a fuller delivery on the stumps before bringing two successive balls into him. The fourth delivery moved away, taking the outside edge through to wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra. East reviewed the decision and DRS confirmed the caught-behind dismissal.
Earlier, Padikkal had looked South Zoneās most assured batter. Coming off a productive tour of Sri Lanka, the Karnataka left-hander reached his half-century in 65 balls, using his trademark composure to negotiate the East attack. But his stay ended soon after when Mukesh Kumar exploited Padikkalās preference for the pick-up flick. A delivery on the pads invited the shot, but Padikkal failed to find the middle and holed out to substitute fielder DP Das in the deep. The wicket summed up South Zoneās day, promising partnerships repeatedly ended just when they appeared to be building momentum.
South Zone had started the day with some stability after losing vice-captain Ricky Bhui early, with Narayan Jagadeesan joining Padikkal to add 60 for the second wicket. Jagadeesan looked fluent against the spinners and struck several elegant boundaries, but his aggressive approach eventually brought about his downfall. Part-time spinner Shikhar Mohan, who was brought into the attack early after Anukul Roy suffered a finger injury, bowled wide outside off. Jagadeesan attempted to cut the ball but could only produce an uppish shot that was comfortably taken by Abhimanyu Easwaran at cover. South managed only 61 runs in the second session while losing three wickets.
With the innings repeatedly losing momentum, Tilak took responsibility for holding the lower order together. The South captain brought up his third consecutive fifty-plus score of the competition, reaching 56 from 133 balls. He and Shreyas Gopal then survived for 26.4 overs, adding 66 runs during the final couple of hours. Gopal eventually fell for 26 in the closing stages, leaving Tilak unbeaten with Milind at stumps. The partnership offered South some late resistance, but the bigger picture remains bleak. They trail by 466 runs and are still well short of the follow-on target, leaving East Zone firmly in control heading into the fourth day.
