Bengaluru, Jul 15 (IANS): West Zone captain Priyank Panchal remained unbeaten on 92 off 205 balls and take his team to 182 for 5 in 62.3 overs on day four of the Duleep Trophy final in a chase of 298 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The action on Day Four means West Zone need 116 runs to win on the fifth and final day and retain their Duleep Trophy title. The day began with Washington Sundar and Vyshak Vijaykumar making 37 and 23 respectively to push the South Zone total to 230 in 81.1 overs.

The bowlers then came out and had West Zone reduced to 79/4 in 35.3 overs, before Panchal and Sarfaraz Khan (48 off 76 balls) resurrected the innings with a crucial 98-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Just as it looked like West Zone would end the day with the duo at the crease, Sarfaraz was castled by left-arm spinner R. Sai Kishore on the stroke of day’s play coming to a close due to bad light. Panchal went to reach 8000 runs in first-class cricket and holds the key for a West Zone victory on day five.

In the chase, pacer V.. Koushik landed the first blow with Prithvi Shaw chopping onto his stumps, followed by Vyshak Vijaykumar trapping Harvik Desai lbw. Koushik then removed Cheteshwar Pujara by having him caught at forward short leg and trapping Suryakumar Yadav lbw in the same over.

With the West Zone chase in tatters, Panchal and Sarfaraz joined forces to give some much-needed momentum through their fifth-wicket stand. While Panchal stayed at the crease for long and hit boundaries occasionally to reach his fifty in 128 balls, Sarfaraz hit a couple of fours while being hit on the helmet once.

Though he fell just two runs short of a half-century, Panchal is still at the crease alongside Atit Sheth and that gives West Zone the hope for a win.

Brief scores:

South Zone 213 & 230 lead West Zone 146 & 182/5 in 62.3 overs (Priyank Panchal 92 not out, Sarfaraz Khan 48; V Koushik 3-28) by 116 runs.