Duleep Trophy 2023 Quarterfinals Day 1 round-up: Dhruv Shorey ton lifts North Zone to 306-6 against North East Zone

North Zone opener Dhruv Shorey (135 off 211) played an impressive knock to guide his team to 306-6 by Stumps on Day 1 in the second quarterfinal of the Duleep Trophy 2023 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday (June 28).

North East Zone won the toss and elected to field first. North Zone openers got their team off to a solid start, as Shorey and Prashant Chopra (32 off 68) added 80 runs for the first wicket. The partnership was broken when Pheiroijam Jotin bowled Chopra. The bowler had two in two when Ankit Kalsi (0) was caught behind.

The third-wicket partnership between Shorey and Prabhsimran Singh (31) was worth 59 as North Zone rebuilt their innings. After Prabhsimran’s departure, Ankit Kumar (9) also fell cheaply. However, Shorey and Nishant Sindhu (76* off 113) put North Zone in a good position, adding 80 runs for the fifth wicket.

The fine stand ended when Shorey was dismissed by Kishan Singha. The North Zone opener struck 22 fours in his wonderful knock before departing. Singha then trapped opposition captain Jayant Yadav for a duck.

Sindhu and Pulkit Narang (23* off 66) took the batting side to Stumps without any further loss of wickets. Sindhu hit nine fours and two sixes in his aggressive knock.

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Duleep Trophy 2023 Quarterfinal: Murasingh takes 5 as East Zone clean up Central Zone for 182

In the first quarterfinal of the Duleep Trophy 2023, Central Zone were bowled out for 182 in 71.4 overs by East Zone at the KSCA Cricket Ground in Alur. Pacer Manisankar Murasingh starred for East Zone with figures of 5-42 in 20 overs.

Central Zone won the toss and elected to bat first, but none of their batters could make a significant contribution. Openers Vivek Singh (21) and Himanshu Mantri (29) got starts but could not carry on. Rinku Singh top-scored with 38 before he was dismissed by Shahbaz Ahmed (2-42).

Upendra Yadav contributed 25 before being dismissed by Murasingh. The latter then ran through the Central Zone lower order to complete a well-deserved five-fer.

Central Zone, though, hit back with the ball to reduce East Zone to 32-2 by stumps on Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy 2023 quarterfinal. Pacer Avesh Khan claimed both wickets, trapping East Zone captain Abhimanyu Easwaran (0) and Shantanu Mishra (6) leg before.

At close of play, Sudip Kumar Gharami was unbeaten on 19 and Shahbaz Nadeem on 6.