Riding on a fine century by Robin Uthappa (141), South Zone scored a commanding 333 for four against Sri Lanka [Images] A on the third day of the Duleep Trophy tie in Kolkata on Monday.

After conceding a vital 61-run lead to Sri Lanka A, South Zone fought back in style with Uthappa and Dinesh Kaarthick sharing a 167-run first wicket partnership to demoralise the visitors.

Uthappa's 141 came off 191 balls with 14 boundaries and one six and Kaarthick made a composed 95 with 11 hits to the fence, making a mockery of the Sri Lankan attack. Only fast bowler Akalanka Ganegama looked impressive in short spells. He claimed all the four wickets in South Zone's innings while conceding 82 runs.

After Kaarthick was dismissed, Uthappa was involved in another fruitful 125-run second wicket partnership with captain VVS Laxman, who scored 45 runs.

Late in the day, Rayadu fell for 17 runs to give Sri Lanka A the fourth wicket.

Scorecard

South Zone (1st innings): 266

Sri Lanka A (1st innings): 327

South Zone (2nd innings): (24/0 overnight)
 D Kaarthick c Samaraweera b Ganegama 95
 R Uthappa c Samaraweera b Ganegama 141
 VVS Laxman c Samaraweera b Ganegama 45
 Y Venugopal Rao batting 19
 A Rayudu b Ganegama 17 

Extras: (b-5 lb-7 nb-1 w-3) 16

Total: (For 4 wkts, 78 overs) 333

Bowling: Ganegama 21-2-82-4, Prasad 16-0-64-0, Chandana 27-1-118-0, Lakshita 10-0-41-0, Mubarak 4-0-16-0.