Now Reading: Shahbaz Ahmed’s 167 powers East Zone into Duleep Trophy semis
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Shahbaz Ahmed’s 167 powers East Zone into Duleep Trophy semis
Shahbaz Ahmed struck 167 off 244 balls and Anukul Roy took a five-wicket haul as East Zone beat North East Zone by an innings and 210 runs in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal…
Shahbaz Ahmed struck 167 off 244 balls and Anukul Roy took a five-wicket haul as East Zone beat North East Zone by an innings and 210 runs in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru on Tuesday. East Zone posted 467 in the first innings after being 138 for five, thanks to Shahbaz and Sudip Kumar Gharami's 146. Abhijit Sarkar then took five wickets to bowl out North East Zone for 111.
Forced to follow on, North East Zone were dismissed for 146, with Anukul claiming 5 for 37. East Zone's most experienced pacer Mohammed Shami went wicketless in both innings. East Zone will now play in the semifinal.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The quarterfinal rout highlights the widening gap in domestic cricket between the established zonal teams and newer entrants like North East Zone, which only began fielding a side in the Duleep Trophy in 2018 under the BCCI's restructuring. Shahbaz and Gharami's partnership after a top-order collapse demonstrated depth in East Zone's batting, while the bowling attack functioned without a contribution from Shami, who is returning from injury. The selectors will watch Shami's form in the semifinal closely, given India's upcoming Test schedule.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
