Propelled by a maiden double hundred from Venugopal Rao, South Zone recorded a dramatic victory over England 'A' in the Duleep Trophy match in Gurgaon on Tuesday.
Chasing a mammoth fourth innings target of 501, South sealed victory in the third mandatory over, with Rao remaining unbeaten on 228.
The winning runs came from S Badrinath, who clubbed right-arm seamer Bilal Shifayat to the midwicket fence and finish with a perfect hundred.
Another innings that laid the platform for South's six-wicket victory was that from left-handed Sridharan Sriram, who scored 117, his 25th first class century.
Statistics with regard to the highest ever target successfully chased in the Duleep Trophy were not immediately available, but an unofficial source said it was the sixth time in the history of the tournament that a 500-plus target was overhauled.
The victory gave South four points and put them in a strong position to make the final, beginning on March 4, at Mohali.
East Zone, who had grabbed two points by virtue of the first innings lead against South in the first round, will have to win their second match against England 'A' to edge out South and reach the final.
Rao's marathon innings, spanning seven hours and 47 minutes, encompassed two double-century partnerships with Sriram and Badrinath. He added 226 runs for the third wicket with the former and 212 for the unbroken fifth with the latter.
Scoreboard
England 'A' (1st innings): 377
South Zone (1st innings): 174
England 'A' (2nd innings): 297
South Zone (2nd innings):
R Barrington b Francis 1
I Khaleel lbw Mahmood 0
S Sriram c Prior b Mahmood 117
Y V Rao not out 228
S Sharath c Pietersen b Napier 28
S Badrinath not out 100
Extras: (b-17, lb-8, nb-4) 29
Total: (for four wickets in 124.2 overs) 503
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-1, 3-227, 4-291.
Bowling: Sajid Mahmood 20.1-2-85-2, Simon Francis 13-3-40-1, Simon Jones 13.5-0-89-0, James Tredwell 36-3-122-0, Graham Napier 23-5-63-1, Kevin Pietersen 9-0-50-0, Michael Lumb 1-0-1-0, Bilal Shifayat 8.2-2-28-0.
