Dhawan and Ricky add to Zimbabweans' misery

Zimbabwe President's XI 94 and 50 for 1 trail North Zone 358 (Dhawan 117, Ricky 106, Yashpal 51*, Cremer 7-114) by 214 runs
Scorecard

Ravneet Ricky and Shikhar Dhawan cracked hundreds and steered North Zone to an imposing position on the second day of their Duleep Trophy clash against Zimbabwe President's XI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Having shot them out for 94 on the first day, North rode on a mammoth 220-run opening stand between Ricky and Dhawan. Their promising partnership in the previous game, against East Zone, had been cut short by some doubtful umpiring decisions but the duo enjoyed a flurry of boundaries and left the Zimbabweans with hardly any chance. Graeme Cremer, the legspinner, ended with a career-best 7 for 114 but North were well on their way to a resounding victory by then. The Zimbabeans lost the wicket of Neil Ferreira before the end of the day, and will need a minor miracle to get something out of this game.

South Zone127 for 3 (Karthik 50) trail Central Zone 478 (Chawla 60, Harvinder 57) by 351 runs
Scorecard

Half-centuries from Piyush Chawla and Harvinder Singh helped Central Zone reach an imposing 478 on the second day against South at Surat. Resuming on 299 for 3, Central consolidated their position through their lower middle order with Chawla, the legspinning allrounder from Uttar Pradesh, anchoring the ship. Harvinder, the Railways fast bowler, was a surprise package and his 92-run stand with Chawla left South with a lot of catching up to do. Dinesh Karthik's plucky unbeaten 50 helped South reach 127 for 3 by stumps, but a lot of work remains to be done if South, who lost their opening game to West, harbour hopes of staying alive in the competition.