Duleep Trophy: Abid Mushtaq stars in North Zone's victory

North Zone completed a 52-run win over West Zone on the fourth morning of the second Duleep Trophy quarter-final in Bengaluru.

Resuming on 220/7 and needing 67 runs to win, West Zone's resistance lasted just under seven overs. Abid Mushtaq bowled Tanush Kotian in the second over of the day, then dismissed Tushar Deshpande before Nishant Sindhu trapped Urvil Patel LBW to seal the win.

Earlier, Anshul Kamboj's 60 helped North Zone post 251, with Ayush Badoni (51) and Ayush Doseja (42) contributing. Kotian and Deshpande took four wickets each for West Zone.

A five-wicket haul from Mushtaq gave North Zone a 64-run first-innings lead. He bowled Prithvi Shaw early before claiming Deshpande as his fifth victim. Musheer Khan's 31 and a fifty from Shams Mulani were the highlights of West Zone's innings.

Badoni scored consecutive fifties while Kotian and Mulani picked up four wickets apiece to bowl North Zone out for 222, setting a target of 287.

After losing both openers cheaply, a 111-run stand between Musheer (96) and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (66) raised West Zone hopes on day three. However, Gaikwad was run out, and West Zone lost their remaining seven wickets for just 39 runs. Mushtaq finished with nine wickets in the match.

Brief Scores: North Zone 251 (Kamboj 60, Badoni 51; Deshpande 4-57, Kotian 4-72) & 222 (Badoni 50, Sindhu 44; Kotian 4-46, Mulani 4-78) beat West Zone 187 (Mulani 52; Mushtaq 5-39) & 234 (Musheer 96, Gaikwad 66; Mushtaq 4-60) by 52 runs.