Duleep Trophy: Abid Mushtaq, Arshdeep Singh help North Zone surge ahead

North Zone surged ahead against West Zone, securing a 171-run lead at the end of Day 2 of the second Duleep Trophy quarter-final at the BCCI Centre of Excellence.

J&K left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq tore through West Zone’s middle order, taking a five-wicket haul and combining well with Arshdeep Singh, who claimed two out of the top three. Shams Mulani provided resistance from No.7 – the only half-centurion of the innings – as they folded for 187.

Starting the day on 31/2, West Zone began with promise, with Musheer Khan and Shivalik Sharma hitting a flurry of boundaries against Anshul Kamboj and Arshdeep. But Abid Mushtaq’s re-introduction (he had already nabbed Prithvi Shaw) saw him prise out Shivalik. There was plenty of turn on offer, and Mushtaq bowled very quick, making it difficult to sweep or charge at him. He would later reveal that he idolises Ravindra Jadeja.

Mushtaq’s left arm claimed captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, Urvil Patel, and Musheer Khan, as West Zone slipped to 70/5. The spell neutralised the resistive shell Musheer had managed until then, playing out 126 balls for his 31.

Mulani then held one end, briefly helped in parts by their deep batting (Tanush Kotian at eight, Shardul Thakur at nine). Tushar Deshpande hit a couple of sixes to nudge them close to 200. The four combined to bat 173 balls together, but the team still ended up with a 64-run deficit.

Mulani then opened the bowling, nabbing openers Yash Dhull and Qamran Iqbal early. When Doseja was trapped leg-before by Kotian, they were reduced to 41/3, briefly giving West Zone a way back into the game. But Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad then stitched together a 46-run stand, and even with Kotian accounting for Samad, the lead had grown to 171 by stumps.

Brief scores: North Zone 251 & 107/4 (Ayush Badoni 39*, Abdul Samad 30; Tanush Kotian 2-22, Shams Mulani 2-34) lead West Zone 187 all out (Shams Mulani 52, Musheer Khan 31; Abid Mushtaq 5-39, Arshdeep Singh 3-53) by 171 runs.

East Zone vs North East Zone

Shahbaz Ahmed hit a career-best 167, helping add 112 runs to their overnight score, as East Zone posted an imposing 467 in the first innings. They then shot out North East Zone for 111, with Abhijit Sarkar claiming a five-fer. Ahmed struck thrice, with only opener Arpit Bhatewara crossing 30. For those intently hoping to watch Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, a follow-on was duly enforced with a 356-run lead.

Mukesh Kumar was difficult to score off, with two off his first three overs being maidens. North East Zone ambled to 21/0 before losing their first wicket. A second wave of resistance came with Bhatewara finding company in Ashish Thapa, as they pushed along to 55/1. But Thapa fell, and Kishan Lyngdoh was then cleaned up by Shahbaz. It kickstarted a collapse: they dropped from 72/2 to 106/6. Another collapse, even more dramatic, followed as they lost four wickets with their score on 111, hastening a follow-on. Batting again, they finished the day on 7/0.

Brief scores: East Zone 467 (Shahbaz Ahmed 167, Sudip Kumar Gharani 146; Pheiroijam Jotin 3-64, Akash Choudhary 3-102) lead North East Zone 111 (Arpit Bhatewara 32, Rongsen Jonathan 21; Abhijit Sarkar 5-20, Shahbaz Ahmed 3-20) & 7/0 following-on (Joseph Lalthankhuma 6, Arpit Bhatewara 0; Mohammed Shami 0-6) by 349 runs.