South Zone 312 (Tilak 116, Gopal 87, Brar 4-88) and 182 for 3 (Tilak 51*, Jagadeesan 43) beat North Zone 195 (Iqbal 76, Kaverappa 4-66) and 297 (Sangwan 76, Doseja 52, Nidheesh 5-56) by seven wickets

Tilak, who batted at No. 4 with South having lost two quick wickets just prior to lunch on Wednesday, put together an unbroken 80-run stand with R Smaran, who finished 31 not out, in the chase of 181. Tilak, who survived a close lbw shout first ball off left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq, played largely within himself until the runs were whittled down under 50, when he expanded his range.

Smaran, pitching for an India A berth after a strong Ranji season where he was the highest run-getter, was happy to play second fiddle all along, rotating strike without allowing the spinners to assert any pressure. The placid black-soil deck didn’t help the bowlers a great deal either.

However, Mushtaq picked up two wickets purely with his skill, even though he lacked the same kind of bite he got off the surface in the quarter-final. That pitch, however, was a red-soil surface that kept the bowlers in the contest right through the four days.

The game itself transformed dramatically late on the third afternoon when South’s seam attack made things happen. MD Nidheesh, the Kerala pace bowler, took his 10th first-class five-for, en route to figures of 5 for 56. This included all the three North wickets to fall early in the first session on Wednesday, leaving them with a lead of 180.

North will look back at their collapse in the second innings as the turning point. Cruising along at 175 for 2 courtesy Sanat Sangwan’s half-century, Nidheesh and Shreyas Gopal, the legspinner, cracked open the contest in the second session. North lost 5 for 34 and collapsed until some late runs from Anshul Kamboj and Nishant Sindhu helped stretch the lead past 100. The pair added 60 for the eighth wicket to ensure they had a total to bowl at.

South started positively with their openers Ricky Bhui and N Jagadeesan putting on 64 before they lost two wickets in the space of eight deliveries. No. 3 Shaik Rasheed endured a torrid game, dismissed for 1 to go with his 0 in the first innings to leave South in choppy waters until Smaran and Tilak steered them into the final.