North Zone win coin toss to make Duleep final

North Zone won a coin toss to qualify for the Duleep Trophy final, after their semi-final against East Zone was called off without either team securing a first-innings lead due to a wet outfield.

Persistent rain had washed out the fourth day - the scheduled final day - pushing the match into a reserve day. Even though the weather cleared up, the umpires were not happy with certain areas of the outfield, making play impossible even on the extra day. So, as per the rules, they organised a toss between North Zone captain Harbhajan Singh and Shahbaz Nadeem, the East Zone captain.

Before the game was interrupted, North Zone had declared their innings at an imposing 591 for 8, with centuries from Unmukt Chand, Ian Dev Singh, Rajat Paliwal and Nitin Saini. In reply, East Zone were 32 for 1 at the end of the third day. Under the circumstances, the umpires had decided that if conditions on the reserve day were suitable, play would be called off once a first-innings lead had been established.

North Zone will now play South Zone in the final, which starts on October 17 in Kochi.