Yadav, Patel guide West into final

Mumbai, December 1

Riding on belligerent half centuries from Suryakumar Yadav and Akshar Patel, defending champions West Zone staged a magnificent fightback to edge past South Zone by two wickets and enter the Deodhar Trophy tournament final, here today.
Chasing an imposing total of 315 for victory in the second semifinal, West were struggling at 174 for six when Yadav (80 off 56 balls) and No. 8 batsman Patel (64 off 38 balls) got involved in a match-winning 70-run stand.
The duo added 67 runs in the batting Powerplay that turned the side's fortunes.
Though Yadav, dropped twice on 9 and 11, departed with score at 244, the left-handed Patel — who struck four sixes and five fours  — found an able partner in Shardul Thakur (31no off 23 balls) to take West to 319 for eight in 47.1 overs. Fittingly, the Gujarat youngster, who has made a good impression in the series against Sri Lanka recently, hit the winning runs — a straight six — to complete a memorable win at the Wankhede Stadium.
Top-order batsmen Sheldon Jackson (51) and Ambati Rayudu (54) had put on 89 runs in 91 balls for the second wicket but following their dismissals in quick succession, the hosts sunk into trouble before Yadav and Patel bailed them out.
Earlier, South’s top-order feasted on some wayward bowling to pile up a huge 314 for six. Half-centuries from Mayank Agarwal, Baba Aparajith, Manish Pandey and a well-made 47 were the main contributions.
West Zone, bidding for their fourth title in a row, will meet East Zone in the final here on December 3 in a day-night clash.  — PTI

Brief scores
South Zone: 314/7 (Agarwal 86, Aparajith 56, Manish Pandey 55); West Zone: 319/8
(Jackson 51, Rayudu 54, Suryakumar 80, Akshar 64*)