Duleep Trophy: North strike late to leave West needing 67 runs with three wickets in hand; Roy, Shahbaz lead East Zone to semis (Ld)

Bengaluru, Aug 25 (IANS) North Zone produced a dramatic late fightback on Day 3 of their Duleep Trophy quarterfinal against West Zone, picking up four wickets in the final 33 minutes of play to turn the contest on its head and leave their opponents needing 67 runs with only three wickets in hand, at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

West Zone were firmly in control about halfway through the third session, due to a 111-run stand between Musheer Khan and Ruturaj Gaikwad, which put their team on the path to victory. However, when Gaikwad was dismissed, it led to a collapse and gave North Zone fresh hope as they entered the final morning.

Although Gaikwad had appeared at ease even in the face of the kind of delivery the surface had to offer, he reached his fifty in less than a run-a-ball and was apparently going to lead West Zone home with Musheer. Yet his innings was ended by a run-out when he tried to steal a quick single – this being the first run-out of his first-class career.

The dismissal had an immediate effect on the momentum. Less than three overs afterwards, Musheer fell just short of his century in an attempt to play a one-handed sweep; he was nicked off the toe-end as the ball kicked and turned sharply, thus ending his counter-attacking innings.

Musheer played well in relation to the conditions, choosing his shots against the quick bowlers and attacking on the leg side. He made use of his feet when facing the spinners and depended on his usual sweep shot, but it was that same shot which eventually cost him.

After that, West Zone lost two quick wickets as the North Zone took advantage of the sudden change in momentum. Urvil Patel finished his innings without being dismissed, with Shardul Thakur and Tanush Kotian coming in next, and Tushar Deshpande also being able to contribute with the bat.

Abid Mushtaq, who had not taken a wicket until late in the innings, played a vital part in the change of direction by getting enough turn from the pitch to dismiss Shams Mulani and Mukesh Choudhary.

Earlier, in their second innings, North Zone had reached 222 after being at 107/4 at the start of the day, with Ayush Badoni scoring a fifty and Nishant Sindhu adding 44 from seventh position. The team then fell to 158/7 before Anshul Kamboj managed three sixes, which enabled them to pass 200.

Mulani and Kotian made the most of the grip and bite that the pitch provided, between them taking eight wickets. The West Zone team will now play on the last morning with 67 runs still needed and three wickets left.

Brief scores:

North Zone 251 & 222 (Ayush Badoni 50, Nishant Sindhu 44; Tanush Kotian 4-48, Shams Mulani 4-78) lead West Zone 187 & 220/7 (Musheer Khan 96, Ruturaj Gaikwad 66; Abid Mushtaq 2-56, Sunil Kumar 1-23) by 67 runs.

East Zone vs North East Zone

East Zone completed a comprehensive innings victory over North East Zone with Anukul Roy claiming a five-wicket haul as North East Zone were bowled out for under 150 in their second innings.

Resuming on 7/0 and 349 runs behind, North East Zone showed some improvement but were still unable to mount a serious fightback. They were reduced to 90/8 by the 35th over before Pheiroijam Jotin offered late resistance from No.7, top-scoring with 39 off 75.

Jotin received support from No.10 Akash Choudhary, who faced 50 balls for his 27, helping North East Zone stretch their innings slightly before East Zone wrapped up the contest.

Anukul ended with five wickets, his seventh five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, while the three left-arm spinners of East Zone shared eight wickets among themselves. Shahbaz Ahmed kept up his fine form by dismissing opener Joseph Lalthankhuma while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi removed Kishan Lyngdoh and Imliwati Lemtur in the same over.

Captain Ishan Kishan was also busy behind the stumps, taking four catches and completing a stumping.

Anukul has seven five-wicket hauls in first-class cricket, but it was Shahbaz who was awarded the Player of the Match for his career-best 167 and four wickets in the match.

Brief scores:

East Zone 467 beat North East Zone 111 & 146 (Pheiroijam Jotin 39, Akash Choudhary 27; Anukul Roy 5-37, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 2-11) by an innings and 210 runs.

–IANS

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