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JAIPUR: Hosts Central Zone put up an overall impressive performance to post a thrilling four-wicket victory over star-studded South Zone to sail into the semifinal of the Deodhar trophy cricket tournament here on Sunday.

The Central Zone bowlers led by Indian medium pacer RP Singh (3 for 40), Srikant Wagh (3 for 44) and Pankaj Singh (2 for 29) bundled out South Zone for 194 in 44.5 overs and then returned to knock off the victory target in 48.3 overs by reaching 195 for six.

Brief scores: South Zone: 184 in 44.5 over (Dinesh Kartik 89, Srikant Anirudh 53, Murli Vijay 13, RP Singh 3 for 40, S Wagh 3 for 44, Pankaj Singh 2 for 29)

Central Zone: 195 for 6 in 48.3 overs (Naman Ojha 19, Amit Paunikar 22, Parvinder Singh 50, Ravi Jangid 43 n.o. Ankit Sharma 24, A Mithun 3 for 25, Pragyan Ojha 2 for 24)

For pacer RP Singh, who will be leading the UP team in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in the absence of Mohammad Kaif, captaincy is a completely new experience and he his enjoying it. UP will be playing its first match against Vidarbha on February 11 at Kanpur.

In a candid chat with The Indian Express, RP Singh said, "Earlier during practice sessions I used to concentrate on my bowling because to be in form one has to sweat it out at the nets, now I have to share my experience as well and give tips to the youngsters. Captaincy is a new experience and I am enjoying it."

Talking about UP's approach in the tournament, RP said, " In one-day cricket every match is important. So be it Vidarbha, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh or Railways, we will be playing against each and every match very seriously."

Regarding the absence of Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla (who are in the Indian Team for the World Cup), Praveen Kumar and Kaif (facing injury problems), RP said, "All of them are very experienced cricketers. The team will be missing them as far as the experience aspect is concerned. However, I am confident about a good show from the UP team because some of the youngsters like Akshdeep Nath, Abhinav Dixit and Zahid Ali who is a wicketkeeper batsmen, are all very talented. We aim to do well in the tournament."

KOLKATA: Kochi Tuskers Kerala pacer RP Singh on Wednesday said he was happy with his bowling in the fourth season of the cash-rich Indian Premier League and lauded skipper Mahela Jayawardene for his game plan which led the debutants to victory against Kolkata Knight Riders.

"I am happy with my bowling in the season. The economy rate was quite good. Hope to continue with the momentum," said RP Singh, who picked up two crucial wickets of Gautam Gambhir and Shakib Al Hasan, after the match.