Saurabh Kumar’s career-best First Class bowling figures (eight for 66) helped Central Zone hammer East Zone by 170 runs to book a semifinal spot in the Duleep Trophy 2023–24 edition on day four at the Alur (I) Cricket Ground on Saturday.
With Saurabh razing the East top-order to the ground last evening, it was only a formality of four wickets for Central on the final morning after setting up a 300-run target. Resuming from a precarious position at 69 for six, East batters Riyan Parag and Manisankar Murasingh could not hold together for long before Saurabh sprang back into action.
The Uttar Pradesh tweaker darted a ball into Parag’s pads in the fifth over of the morning, trapping him leg-before for his 20th First Class five-wicket haul. While Saurabh knocked off Shahbaz Nadeem’s middle-stump for his sixth wicket, number 10, Akash Deep, flickered with three sixes. The left-arm spinner returned to quicker deliveries and sealed the match with two consecutive wickets.
