Duleep Trophy Quarterfinals Day 3: North Zone chase Central Zone's mammoth total

Sports Cricket

Posted by AI on 2025-08-30 13:33:00 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-08-30 21:18:05

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Central Zone looks to wrap up victory over North Zone after imposing pace undone Northeast Zone on Day 2

Only yesterday morning, Central Zone seemed slightly nervous at lunch, with Northeast Zone poised at 119 for 2, chasing 458 for victory. A stunning spell from Rajneesh Gurbani, who finished with figures of 7 for 59, destroyed the Northeast Zone batting line-up and pushed Central Zone within sight of the semifinals. On Wednesday, May 25, Central Zone continued their dominance, as they reduced North Zone to 34 for 3, in response to their massive 564 for 7 declared. While it was always going to be a tall order for North Zone to chase down Central Zone's score, the manner in which the Central Zone's bowlers have dominated the North Zone batsmen will certainly make for an interesting final day.

It was always going to be a challenge for the North Zone batsmen to negotiate the turning ball on a pitch that offered variable bounce. Central Zone deployed two spinners and a medium pacer, rovering the wicket constantly with close-in fielders. The North Zone opener, Pradeep Sahu, was the first to go, trapped in front of the wicket by Bipul Sharma, while Ankit Rajpoot bowled a beautiful length and moved the ball both ways. Rajpoot got his reward, cleaning up Captain Atharva Taide for 18, while Kamal Singh took the key wicket of Himmat Singh for 7. Rooshv Shah continued to apply pressure, bowling tight lines from the other end, and finishing the day with an impressive 2 for 20 from 16 overs. At close of play, Sheldon Jackson was anchoring the North Zone innings, remaining unbeaten on 28, while Ankit Rajpoot, who fetched valuable runs with his bruising aggression, finished the day unconquered at 17. With Requinton Jaques also surviving, batting on 7, the final day could see a tense finish if the pair can stitch together an impressive partnership.

The quarterfinals of the Duleep Trophy, being played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, will witness a decisive final day's play on Thursday, May 25. While the tournament is designed to prepare batsmen in India for the tougher challenges of foreign conditions, it has been the bowlers who have dominated the quarterfinals. With both matches delicately poised heading into the final day, we will need to wait and see if the captains and coaches opt to pursue victory or safety.

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