Abid Mushtaq and Arshdeep Singh helped North Zone get into a strong position as West Zone were bowled out for 187 on the second day of their Duleep Trophy quarter-final on MondayNorth Zone took a 64-run first-innings lead before ending the day at 107/4.
Mushtaq was the standout bowler, finishing with 5/39 from 25.5 oversArshdeep also bowled a tight spell and picked up three wickets for 53 runsWest Zone, who resumed the day at 31/2 after North Zone had made 251, struggled to build partnerships.
Shams Mulani was the only West Zone batter to make a half-centuryHe scored 52 off 94 balls, while Musheer Khan made 31No other batter managed to cross 30.
Yash Dhull had another disappointing outingThe former India Under-19 captain, who had been picked ahead of Sanat Sangwan, was dismissed for a duckMulani bowled an arm ball that came in with the angle and trapped Dhull in front of the stumps.
Dhull had also failed in the first innings after being dismissed by Shardul ThakurHis second failure added to the questions around his selection, especially with Sangwan left out despite scoring 828 runs in the last Ranji Trophy season.
West Zone’s lower order could not offer much resistance eitherMushtaq kept the pressure on and eventually completed his five-wicket haul as North Zone wrapped up the innings for 187 in 65.4 overs.
North Zone began their second innings with a 64-run advantage but lost wickets regularlyQamran Iqbal was dismissed after attempting a slog sweep against Mulani, while Tanush Kotian removed another batter after he was caught in front while trying to defend from the back foot.
Ayush Badoni once again provided stability for North ZoneHe remained unbeaten on 39 at stumps and had already scored a half-century in the first inningsAbdul Samad gave him support with a quick 30, and the pair added 46 runs for the fourth wicket before Kotian dismissed Samad.
North Zone finished the day at 107/4 from 21 overs, giving them an overall lead of 171 runsBadoni was joined by captain Kanhaiya Wadhawan, who was unbeaten on eight.
