Duleep Trophy 2023: North Zone secures easy win against North East Zone

North Zone crushed North East Zone by 511 runs in the quarterfinal of the Duleep Trophy at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday. North will face a far sterner test in the semifinal, which commences at the same venue on July 5, against a strong South Zone.

North Zone crushed North East Zone by 511 runs in the quarterfinal of the Duleep Trophy at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday.

Jayant Yadav-led North made light of the task in the morning session of the final day, taking the seven remaining North East wickets in quick time.

North will face a far sterner test in the semifinal, which commences at the same venue on July 5, against a strong South Zone.

North East expectedly crumbled under pressure. Overnight batters Palzor Tamang (40) and Nilesh Lamichaney (27) showed some fight to survive the first hour.

Left-arm spinner Nishant Sindhu broke the partnership, taking Lamichaney out with a delivery that jumped from length. From here, wickets fell in a heap, as Sindhu and off-spinner Pulkit Narang ran riot.

The match came to a close before lunch, with Narang claiming four wickets.

Sindhu, who scored 150 in the first innings, was declared the ‘Player-of-the-Match’. His 130-run seventh-wicket partnership with Narang helped the side rack up a big total. “I talked to Narang about having a long partnership. We were looking at 500, and we were able to reach it,” Sindhu said.