South Zone's captain Tilak Verma (PTI Photo)

South Zone booked their place in the Duleep Trophy final with a convincing seven-wicket win over North Zone, with captain Tilak Varma finishing the job with a patient half-century at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2 in Bengaluru on Wednesday.Chasing 181 for victory, South Zone reached 182/3, with Tilak unbeaten on 51. R Smaran provided him company in an unbeaten 79-run partnership as South Zone completed the chase with plenty to spare.

Nidheesh's five-for leaves North Zone with modest target

North Zone, resuming Day 4 on 256/7 with a lead of 139, managed to add only 41 runs before being bowled out for 297. Anshul Kamboj and Nishant Sindhu extended their partnership to 60 before Kamboj was dismissed by MD Nidheesh for 36.Gurnoor Brar and Arshdeep Singh struck a six each, but Nidheesh cleaned up both batters to complete a five-wicket haul. He finished with 5/56 as North Zone folded, leaving Sindhu stranded on 35.

Tilak and Smaran finish the chase in style

South Zone began their chase steadily with Ricky Bhui and Narayan Jagadeesan adding 64 for the opening wicket. Bhui took the attacking route, hitting seven fours in a 53-ball 42 before falling to Brar. Shaik Rasheed was then bowled by Abid Mushtaq for one, but Jagadeesan and Tilak ensured there was no further damage before lunch, taking South Zone to 72/2.The pair continued to consolidate in the second session and took South Zone beyond 100 before Jagadeesan was stumped off Mushtaq for 43. With the target still within reach, Tilak joined forces with Smaran to put the result beyond doubt.Tilak struck two boundaries off Kamboj and another against Mushtaq, while Smaran attacked Ayush Badoni's offspin with a couple of boundaries of his own. North Zone's decision to turn to part-time options in the closing stages underlined their fading hopes.Tilak eventually sealed victory with a boundary that also brought up his half-century.

First-innings hundred laid the foundation

The South Zone captain had already played the defining innings of the match in the first innings, scoring an unbeaten 116 after his side had slipped to 80/5 while chasing North Zone's 195. His 175-run partnership with Shreyas Gopal, who made 87, helped South Zone take a crucial 117-run first-innings lead.North Zone briefly fought back through fifties from Sanat Sangwan and Ayush Doseja, but their second-innings collapse on Day 3 left them with too much to do. South Zone will face East Zone in the final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai from September 6 after East Zone defeated Central Zone by four wickets in the other semifinal.Brief Scores: North Zone 195 & 297 (Sanat Sangwan 76, Ayush Doseja 52; MD Nidheesh 5/56, Kavuri Saiteja 2/57) lost to South Zone 312 & 182/3 (Tilak Varma 51*, Narayan Jagadeesan 43, Ricky Bhui 42; Abid Mushtaq 2/55) by seven wickets.