Gurgaon: Sridharan Sriram and Y. Venugopalarao shared a 170-run partnership to lead South Zone’s fightback against England A in the Duleep Trophy match here Monday.

Chasing a mammoth victory target of 501, South Zone were placed at a healthy 171 for two at stumps on Day. Sriram was batting on 78 while Venugopalarao on 88. Meanwhile, in Gurgaon, a fine bowling performance put North Zone in sight of victory against Central Zone.

After bowling out Central for 211 in the second innings, North were two for no loss at close on Day III. They need another 115 runs to win with a full day’s play remaining.

BRIEF SCORES

England A 377 & 297/8 decl. (K. Pietersen 115, G. Napier 64; S. Sreeshant 3/79, S. Joshi 3/91) South Zone 174 & 171/2 (S. Sriram 78 batting, Y. Venugopalarao 88 batting).

Central Zone 154 & 211 (V. Saxena 51, N. Ojha 35; A. Bhandari 3/56, Gagandeep Singh 3/19, J. Sharma 3/43). North Zone 249 & 2/0. (PTI)