South Zone dismissed for modest total despite Sriram's ton

After a rainy first day, play finally got underway on the second day of the Central Zone, South Zone encounter being played at the KL Saini Ground, Jaipur. In the 89.3 overs bowled, South Zone, who elected to bat, were bowled out for 241 despite a hundred from opener S Sriram and a half-century from middle-order batsman Arjun Yadav.

The duo's 109-run third wicket stand had given South hopes of making a significant first innings total. Even Yadav' dismissal for 54 failed to prevent South from making a steady progress as Vijay Bhardwaj stepped in to fill the breach. But Bharadwaj's dismissal for 16, signalled the beginning of South's batting collapse.

Nand Kishore and Sriram soon followed as the Central off-spinners - Rahul Kanwat and Kulamani Parida - began to hit their stride. Sriram had played admirably while compiling 102 off 224 balls with six fours. Among the batsmen who followed, only S Sharath, who made an unbeaten 22, offered any resistance. Mr Extras with 18 was the fourth highest scorer in a South batting card that must have made painful reading for the visitors.

For Central, Kanwat claimed five wickets while Parida claimed three wickets.