Central Zone was in the driving seat on day three of the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal against East Zone at the Alur (1) Cricket Ground here on Friday.
After failing to build on its openers’ solid effort amidst three fiery spells from Ishan Porel, Central folded up for 239 in its second essay. It set up a 300-run target before Saurabh Kumar (four for 33) gnawed at the East top-order, leaving it 69 for six at stumps.
On a deck that retained its hardness, the East batters failed to apply themselves again. Captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, dismissed for a golden duck in the first innings, fell for 11 as he misread Saurabh and ceded control over his stump. Saurabh continued his procession after Anustup Majumdar and Shahbaz Ahmed were left displeased with umpire Mohit Krishnadas’ decisions that had them adjudged leg-before and caught-behind respectively.
Opener Shantanu Mishra’s stoic 82-ball 18 was ruined by Saurabh, who found a healthy edge to wicketkeeper Upendra Yadav. With minutes left to play, Central captain Shivam Mavi landed another blow by dismissing Kumar Kushagra for a pair in the match.
The morning session was split between Central’s openers and Porel who bowled his heart out on a flat deck. While Himanshu Mantri and Vivek Singh lifted the team to 124 with the first pair of half-centuries in the match, Porel held one end tight, conceding just six in his first four-over spell. The Bengal seamer then uprooted Vivek’s leg-stump before Shahbaz Nadeem prized out Mantri on 68 before lunch.
Porel’s remarkable control bore fruition in another outstanding spell when he trapped Upendra Yadav and Saurabh off successive deliveries. Central’s middle-order meltdown — from 182 for four to 201 for eight — gave hope to Easwaran’s men. However, a sensible hand from Saransh Jain (32 n.o., 60b, 2x4) doused hopes of a seamless cruise through the tail, eventually setting up a daunting chase for East.
The scores: Central Zone — 1st innings: 182.
East Zone — 1st innings: 122.
Central — 2nd innings: Himanshu Mantri c Parag b Nadeem 68, Vivek Singh b Porel 56, Kunal Chandela lbw b Ahmed 14, Shubham Sharma lbw b Ahmed 23, Rinku Singh c Mishra b Parag 6, Upendra Yadav lbw b Porel 7, Saurabh Kumar lbw b Porel 0, Shivam Mavi c Majumdar b Ahmed 5, Saransh Jain (not out) 32, Avesh Khan b Nadeem 16, Yash Thakur b Parag 1; Extras (lb-4, w-1, nb-6): 11; Total (in 87.5 overs): 239.
Fall of wickets: 1-124, 2-138, 3-157, 4-164, 5-182, 6-182, 7-184, 8-201, 9-231.
East bowling: Murasingh 10-2-30-0, Akash 16-4-29-0, Porel 12-4-15-3, Ahmed 20-2-66-3, Parag 14.5-2-51-2, Nadeem 15-2-44-2.
East — 2nd innings: Shantanu Mishra c Upendra b Saurabh 18, Abhimanyu Easwaran b Saurabh 11, Sudip Gharami c Vivek b Avesh 0, Anustup Majumdar lbw b Saurabh 13, Shahbaz Ahmed c Upendra b Saurabh 18, Riyan Parag (batting) 6, Kumar Kushagra lbw b Mavi 0, Manisankar Murasingh (batting) 0; Extras (lb-2, w-1): 3; Total (for six wkts. in 29 overs): 69.
Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-19, 3-36, 4-61, 5-62, 6-69.
Central bowling: Mavi 7-3-7-1, Avesh 6-2-16-1, Saurabh 12-3-33-4, Thakur 4-1-11-0.
