West were bowled out in two sessions to set North Zone an easy 166 to get, with two days and a session to go

On a roller coaster day at the Wankhede Stadium, where fortunes kept swinging from one side to other, North Zone managed to grab a slight advantage with a 66-run lead

Mithun Manhas made a brave decision in putting West Zone in on the Wankhede track which is reputed to be a good bat-first pitch

VRV took his second five-wicket haul in two Duleep Trophy matches since his return from Australia, while Ajinkya Rahane followed his 172 in the previous game with an aggressive 91

Both teams are battle-ready, after having fought their way into the final from a difficult corner in their respective final league matches

A match that looked to be heading for a draw swung North Zone's way spectacularly, as East Zone crashed from a position of safety to a crushing 434-run defeat on day four at Rajkot

A complete mess-up by the England Lions allowed West Zone to comprehensively notch up a win that took them to the showpiece match in Mumbai.

Double-centuries from opener Aakash Chopra and captain Mithun Manhas all but ensured North Zone a place in finals of the Duleep Trophy

Big tons from overnight batsmen Ajinkya Rahane and Wasim Jaffer left West Zone with an outside chance of qualifying for the final