In the longer format, patience and discipline are traditional routes to building an innings. The beauty lies in embracing that challenge when the situation demands it.South Zone found themselves in a similar situation on Monday. At 80/5, they were staring at the prospect of conceding first-innings lead to North Zone, who had posted 195 in their Duleep Trophy semifinal at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here.What followed over the next 271 minutes was an exhibition of restraint and disciplined batsmanship as Tilak Varma (106 batting, 225b, 7×4) and Shreyas Gopal (87, 169b, 11×4) took centre stage with a 175-run sixth-wicket partnership. Their stand eventually turned the tide, helping South secure a first-innings lead. They were 285/9 at stumps, 90 runs ahead on the second day.South, who resumed on 40/2, were rocked by the brilliance of pacer Gurnoor Brar (4/70), who arrived in the city from the Sri Lanka tour on Friday. Making the most of windy conditions, Brar produced a peach in his fifth delivery of the day to disturb Narayan Jagadeesan’s stumps. He struck again soon after, producing a similar delivery to castle R Smaran’s off stump before dismissing Kodimela Himateja for a duck.With their backs against the wall, Tilak and Shreyas joined hands and tested the North bowlers’ patience.The Karnataka all-rounder brought up his first four off the 42nd ball he faced. Tilak did not find the boundary again until his 154th delivery, with that four taking South into the lead. Having curbed his instincts and reached his fifty without a boundary, the Hyderabad batter gradually shifted gears.Shreyas, meanwhile, completed his fifty in 107 balls and looked in control as he appeared on course for his seventh first-class hundred. But pacer Arshdeep Singh ended his vigil when he edged one through to stand-in wicketkeeper Abdul Samad.With South’s tail beginning to crumble, Tilak was in danger of missing out on a deserved century. The Hyderabad batter, though, held his nerve, smashing two successive fours off Gurnoor to bring up his eighth first-class hundred in 219 balls.Interestingly, all seven of Tilak’s fours came after he reached his fifty — a reflection of the restraint that underpinned his innings. With South nine down, he will be eager to carry that momentum into the third day and stretch their lead into three figures and beyond.