Duleep Trophy: Sai Kishore's 7-wicket haul gives South big lead vs North; West sets Central huge target

Meanwhile in Coimbatore, Prithvi Shaw's blistering 142 (140 balls, 15 fours, 4 sixes) helped West Zone set Central Zone a massive target of 501 in the other semifinal. Tamil Nadu spinner Sai Kishore, who has been impressive in the white ball formats, came up with a superb showing, snaring seven wickets including that of the talented Yash Dhull (39, 70 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) to help dismiss North Zone for 207 in 67 overs. Resuming at 24 for no loss, Dhull and Manan Vohra (27) pushed North Zone's first innings score to 67 before off-spinner K Gowtham (2 for 68) struck the first blow, removing the latter, caught by Rohan Kunnummal.

Dhull, who had slammed a ton in the quarterfinal against East Zone, could not carry on his good form, following Vohra into the pavillion four runs later. He nicked one to keeper Ricky Bhui to give Sai Kishore his first scalp. North slipped to 116 for 4 as captain Mandeep Singh (14) and Dhruv Shorey (28) were dismissed in quick succession.

Himanshu Rana (17) and Nishant Sindhu (40, 64 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) put on 48 runs for the fifth wicket. However, the exit of Rana, who was trapped leg before by Sai Kishore, saw North lose another wicket quickly. Sindhu kept fighting but he did not get much support from the other end and Sai Kishore ran through the lower order.

North were dismissed for 207, giving South a mammoth first innings lead. The lanky spinner finished with 7 for 70 and played a huge role in the team securing the first innings advantage. South did not enforce the follow-on and chose to bat a second time.

Rohan Kunnummal, who scored a ton in the first essay, came with a quickfire 77 (72 balls) as the batters enjoyed the time out in the middle. At stumps, South were 157 for 1. Brief