Deodhar Trophy: Shivam Dube’s knock helps West Zone trump North Zone

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.

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.

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.