Duleep Trophy 2023 Quarter-finals, Day 3 round-up: North Zone reduce North East Zone to 58/3 after setting target of 666

North Zone reduced North East Zone to 58/3 after setting them a mammoth target of 666 on Day 3 of quarter-final 2 of Duleep Trophy 2023 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday, June 30.

Resuming their first innings on 65/3, North East Zone were bundled out for 134 in 39.2 overs. Nilesh Lamichaney, who was unbeaten on 35*, top-scored with 44 before being bowled by Siddarth Kaul. No other batter from the team reached 20 as Prafullomani Singh’s 19 was the next-best score in the innings.

For North Zone, Kaul and Pulkit Narang picked up three wickets each. They declared their second innings on 259/6 as Ankit Kumar scored 70, Prabhsimran Singh 59, skipper Jayant Yadav 55*, and Ankit Kalsi 49 made significant contributions.

Set to chase an improbable 666, North East Zone lost Joseph Lalthankhuma (7), Langlonyamba Meitan Keishangbam (13), and Kishan Lyngdoh (14) before stumps.

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Saurabh Kumar rips through East Zone batting in 1st quarter-final of Duleep Trophy 2023

Saurabh Kumar claimed 4/33 as Central Zone reduced East Zone for 69/6 in their second innings in the first quarter-final of Duleep Trophy 2023 at the KSCA Cricket Ground in Alur. After Central Zone were bowled out for 239 in their second innings and set East Zone a target of 300, they hit back strongly with the ball.

Resuming their second innings on 64/0, Central Zone were bowled out for 239. Openers Himanshu Mantri and Vivek Singh, who were unbeaten on 25 and 34 respectively, carried on the good work on Day 3 and went on to complete their respective half-centuries.

The opening partnership, which was worth 124, was broken when Ishan Porel bowled Singh for 56 off 120 balls. Mantri was the next to go for 68 as he fell to Shahbaz Nadeem. Central Zone’s batting, however, crumbled after the exit of their openers as they lost their last eight wickets for 82 runs.

Rinku Singh was out for 6, while Upendra Yadav (7) and Saurabh Kumar (0) were trapped lbw off consecutive deliveries by Porel. The wickets kept falling at regular intervals even as Saransh Jain chipped in with an unbeaten 32. For East Zone, Porel and Shahbaz Ahmed claimed three wickets each, while Nadeem and Riyan Parag picked up two each.

East Zone’s batting crumbled in the second innings as well as they found themselves in big trouble at 69/6 in a chase of 300. Skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran was bowled by Kumar for 11, while Sudip Kumar Gharami fell to Avesh Khan for a duck.

Kumar also trapped Anustup Majumdar lbw for 11. Shahbaz Ahmed (18) was the next to go, caught behind of Kumar, while Shantanu Mishra (18) also perished in the same mode.

The horror did not end for East Zone there in the Duleep Trophy 2023 quarter-final clash. They were six down for 69 runs at stumps as Kumar Kushagra was trapped lbw by Shivam Mavi.