A good all-round batting effort - only one batsman failed to cash in - allowed Sri Lanka A to declare on 290 for 7 and leave West Zone with 467 to win their Duleep Trophy clash at Cuttack. Faced with the large target, Wasim Jaffer (56*) and Amol Muzumdar (46*) overcame two early losses to take West Zone to 125 for two at stumps on the third day.
Sri Lanka A began the day with the overnight pair of Michael Vandort and Malinda Warnapura progressing to fifties. Their dismissals in quick succession did little to dent Sri Lanka A's progress, as Thilan Samaraweera (35), Jehan Mubarak (40 from 34 balls) and Chamara Silva (57) each left a mark. Silva's wicket, with Sri Lanka A ahead by 466, prompted the declaration.
Dammika Prasad and Akalanka Ganegama, the right-arm fast bowling pair, then grabbed a wicket each to jolt West Zone. The experienced hand of Jaffer and Muzumdar then steadied the boat with a 97-run stand.
A comprehensive bowling performance and a confident start to their second innings put North Zone firmly in charge against Central Zone at stumps on the third day at Jamshedpur. Ashish Nehra and Rajesh Sharma, the offspinner, each bagged three wickets to help bowl out Central Zone for 288 before Gautam Gambhir and Akash Chopra added 60 in a solid opening stand.
For Central Zone, only Naman Ojha, the wicketkeeper, offered any real resistance with 67, while Murali Kartik hit a quick unbeaten 33 down the order. North Zone lost Chopra, edging Piyush Chawla's legspin to Ojha for 29, but Gambhir was still around as they accumulated a lead of 227.