South recover after Nehra strikes early blows for North

South Zone, rocked by Ashish Nehra’s wicket-taking burst early on, recovered to 327-9 at stumps on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy league match against North Zone at the Usharaje ground today. South’s innings was built mainly around opener Robin Uthappa’s 80, who hit 15 fours, his century stand with Sridharan Sriram (25) and the 87-run stand for the fifth wicket between VVS Laxman (55) and Sridharan Sharath (60).

Wicketkeeper Dinesh Kaarthick, named in India’s squad for the first Test against Pakistan, remained unbeaten with 49.

For North, left-arm paceman Nehra showed a pleasing return to his wanted form ahead of the Test series against Pakistan with incisive spells and at the end of the day returned with figures of 4-110 in 23 overs. Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra picked up two wickets each.

Brief scores: South Zone: 327-9 (Robin Uhappa 80, VVS Laxman 55, Sharath 60, Nehra 4-110).