Riding on Shivam Dube’s counter-attacking 83 (78b, 3x4, 5x6), alongside the fifties from Kathan Patel and Harvik Desai, West Zone registered a resounding six-wicket win over North Zone in a round four clash of the Deodhar Trophy at Siechem Stadium here on Sunday.
West, which simplified its qualification scenario by eliminating North, now only needs a win against East to reach the final.
Chasing a tricky target of 260, West suffered a familiar jolt as its middle order crumbled yet again under pressure.
Captain Priyank Panchal and Rahul Tripathi were sent back by pacers Rishi Dhawan and Mayank Yadav respectively, leaving West struggling at 49 for two by the 11th over.
After skipper Nitish Rana removed set batter Samarth Vyas on 25 in the 19th over to put North in control, Himanshu Rana capitalised on a mix-up between Dube and Desai to send the latter back with a runout.
Winning stand
Nevertheless, what followed was a gritty response from Dube and Kathan as the duo stitched a 137-run partnership to take West home with seven balls in hand.
While Dube charged out to the spinners in the middle overs, using his long levers and sheer power to clear the fence with ease, Patel kept the tempo up with a vital knock.
Earlier, North reached a fighting total of 259 for six after electing to bat on a dry surface amid hot-humid conditions.
Openers Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh started cautiously before the right-hander unleashed his free-flowing stroke-making to cash in on the loose deliveries, collecting five boundaries in the first six overs.
Prabhsimran failed to convert a good start, perishing on 26 off Rajvardhan Hangargekar. Himanshu added 50 runs with Abhishek before Shams Mulani ended the opener’s sluggish 53-ball 29-run innings in the 18th over.
Himanshu continued with Nitish Rana and scored a half-century before Sarfaraz Khan dismissed him in his first over to end the 49-run stand.
Mulani further broke the back of North with two quick wickets and registered an impressive figure of 10-0-29-3 before Shubham Rohilla helped North post a competitive total with a fighting half-century.
The scores: North Zone 259/6 in 50 overs (Himanshu Rana 54, Nitish Rana 54, Shubham Rohilla 56, Shams Mulani 3/29) lost to West Zone 260/4 in 48.5 overs (Harvik Desai 56, Shivam Dube 83 n.o., Kathan Patel 63 n.o.).
