North Zone 636 for 7 decl and 87 for 2 (Chopra 51*) beat Sri Lanka A 296 and 426 (Warnapura 149*, Rajesh Sharma 5-119) by eight wickets
Scorecard
Malinda Warnapura's battling hundred came in a lost cause as North Zone clinched the Duleep Trophy with an eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka A at the Eden Gardens.
Warnapura was unbeaten on 149 in a total of 426, but a target of 87 was too easy for North, who won in 18.1 overs with Aakash Chopra backing his first-innings hundred with an unbeaten 51. This was the 17th time that North Zone had won the Duleep Trophy and they remain the most successful team in the history of this competition. Their previous triumph was in 2003-04 at Mohali.
Sri Lanka A began the day 81 runs behind, and lost four wickets in the first session. Chamara Silva, Kaushal Silva and Rangana Herath all managed quick runs but couldn't match Warnapura for resolve or skill. Overnight on 82, Warnapura was cautious while in the nineties, but brought up his hundred with a four off Ashish Nehra and collected three more in the bowler's next. As wickets tumbled at one end, Warnapura battled on.
Rajesh Sharma, the offspinner from Punjab, picked up two wickets to complete his second first-class five wicket haul. Nehra, who leaked runs and went wicketless in Sri Lanka A's first innings, picked up Kaushal and Herath, while Mithun Manhas's part-time offbreaks got him the final wicket to fall.