North Zone spin out West in 28-minute final-day burst

Bengaluru: North Zone needed three wickets and West Zone just 67 runs when play resumed on the fourth and final morning of their Duleep Trophy quarterfinal at the BCCI Centre of Excellence on Wednesday. It took the bowlers barely 28 minutes to settle the contest, adding only 14 runs to West's overnight total of 220 and booking a semifinal date with South Zone beginning August 30.

Jammu & Kashmir left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq, who finished with a match haul of nine wickets, uprooted Tanush Kotian's middle stump in the second over to set the wheels in motion. Bowling with precision and a flatter trajectory, Abid then had Tushar Deshpande caught sharply at first slip by Abdul Samad. Fellow spinner Nishant Sindhu trapped Urvil Patel leg before wicket to end the match, leaving West's No. 11, Shardul Thakur, without facing a single ball.

West Zone had lost the plot late on Tuesday, collapsing from 209/3 to 234 all out as they surrendered four wickets for just 25 runs, undoing much of the damage sustained on the first innings.

Arshdeep dreaming of home

Before the late-evening collapse, North Zone left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh was already eyeing a return to Punjab after claiming four wickets in the match. "I was thinking about 'Sher-e-Punjab', going back home, and what time ticket should I book!" Arshdeep said with a grin.

Brief scores: North Zone 251 & 222 bt West Zone 187 & 234 (overnight 220/7) all out in 57.3 overs (Abid Mushtaq 4/60, Nishant Sindhu 2/59).

Semifinals lineup: North vs South; East vs Central.