Yadav fires Central Zone to victory

Barrington Rowland's 70 off 95 balls went in vain as South Zone slipped to a 25-run defeat against Central Zone at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Jai Prakash Yadav took 4 for 44 to dismiss South Zone for 226 after Central Zone had set them a target of 252.

After choosing to bat, Central Zone strung together a succession of nuggety partnerships but failed to convert them into sizable proportions. All but the last batsman, Shalabh Srivastava, managed to get into double-figures. Shreyas Khanolkar top-scored with 54 off 61 balls, while Mohammad Kaif chipped in with 43. Syed Sahabuddin was South Zone's most successful bowler with 3 for 39.

Rowland anchored South Zone's chase with a patient innings but wickets fell regularly at the other end. South Zone lost Swapnil Asnodkar and Sahabuddin in the space of one run before VVS Laxman joined Rowland for a 64-run stand for the third wicket. However, Yadav dismissed Laxman and Venugopal Rao off successive balls and added two more wickets to reduce South Zone to 125 for 6. Rowland's dismissal with the score on 147 for 7 was the telling blow to South Zone's victory chances.