West need 299 after Gambhir makes 111

West Zone 172 and 92 for 2 (Mane 52*) need another 207 runs to beat North Zone 279 and 191 (Gambhir 111; Powar 3-49, Bahutule 3-50)
Scorecard

Vinayak Mane led the way with an unbeaten 52 as West Zone made a decent start in pursuit of the 299 needed for victory in their Duleep Trophy match against North Zone in Dharamsala. At close of play on the penultimate day, West were 92 for 2, needing another 207, after Gautam Gambhir's splendid 111 had propped up North's second innings of 191.

Resuming the day on 17 for 1, Gambhir and Pankaj Dharmani (36) batted most of the morning before Ramesh Powar and Rakesh Patel triggered a collapse. None of the remaining batsmen got into double figures, leaving Gambhir to wage a lone battle against the West bowlers.

He batted 203 ball for his unbeaten 111, even as wickets fell in a heap at the other end, with Powar and Sairaj Bahutule both picking up three wickets. West lost two wickets early in their run chase, but Mane and Jacob Martin then added 47 for the third wicket to set up a tense finale.