Abid Mushtaq delivers as North Zone win a dramatic quarter-final

North Zone completed a 52-run victory over West Zone early on the fourth morning of the second Duleep Trophy quarter-final at the Centre of Excellence Ground 1 in Bengaluru, booking their place in the semi-finals in front of a tense finale.

Left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq was the architect of the win, taking match figures of 9/99 to be named Player of the Match. Resuming the day on 220/7 and needing 67 runs with three wickets in hand, West Zone still harboured hope with Urvil Patel and Tanush Kotian at the crease. But that resistance lasted barely six-and-a-half overs as North Zone's spinners cleaned up the tail.

Mushtaq got the breakthrough in the second over of the morning, bowling Kotian. He then returned to remove Tushar Deshpande for five, caught by Abdul Samad, before Nishant Sindhu trapped Urvil Patel lbw in the following over to seal the win. West could add only 14 runs to their overnight score before being bowled out for 234 in 57.3 overs.

How the game turned in Bengaluru

The contest had swung decisively in North Zone's favour on the third day when West captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was run out for 66 off 70 balls. Gaikwad had put on a 111-run stand with Musheer Khan (96), and at 195/3 West appeared to be in control of the chase. Instead, they lost Gaikwad and Musheer among four wickets in less than seven overs, adding only 25 runs during that period.

West Zone's innings had earlier been anchored by Musheer Khan's patient 96 and captain Gaikwad's 66 after losing both openers cheaply. With several deliveries keeping low on the pitch, West's task on the final morning was always going to be difficult.

Mushtaq's ninth-wicket hauls and the batting contributions

Earlier in the game, Anshul Kamboj's lower-order surge (60) helped North Zone post 251, with Ayush Badoni (51) and Ayush Doseja (42) making useful contributions. West Zone's bowling was led by Kotian and Deshpande, who picked up four wickets each.

A five-wicket haul from Mushtaq then gave North Zone a 64-run first-innings lead. He began by bowling Prithvi Shaw early, and finished with the wicket of Deshpande as his fifth victim. Musheer Khan's 31 and a fifty from Shams Mulani were the highlights of West's first innings. Badoni then added consecutive fifties, while Kotian and Mulani shared another four-wicket haul each for West. Contributions from Abdul Samad (30) and Sindhu (44) helped North Zone to 222, setting their opponents a target of 287.

Semi-final line-up

North Zone will now face South Zone in the semi-final, while East Zone will meet Central Zone, with both matches beginning at the Centre of Excellence from August 30. The victory was not without controversy, however, as North Zone coaches Ajay Sharma and Sarandeep Singh left out Sanat Sangwan, the third-highest run-scorer in the last Ranji Trophy season with 828 runs, in favour of Yash Dhull, who scored nine and zero in the two innings.

Brief scores

North Zone 251 (Anshul Kamboj 60, Ayush Badoni 51; Tushar Deshpande 4-57, Tanush Kotian 4-72) & 222 (Ayush Badoni 50, Nishant Sindhu 44; Tanush Kotian 4-46, Shams Mulani 4-78)
West Zone 187 (Shams Mulani 52; Abid Mushtaq 5-39) & 234 (Musheer Khan 96, Ruturaj Gaikwad 66; Abid Mushtaq 4-60) all out
North Zone won by 52 runs.