*Auqib Nabi bags player of Match award
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 31: North Zone stormed into the semifinals of the prestigious Duleep Trophy by securing a first-innings lead over East Zone in their quarterfinal clash at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. The five-day encounter, which ended in a draw, saw North Zone dominate across all departments, with Jammu and Kashmir’s Auqib Nabi being adjudged the Player of the Match for his all-round brilliance.
Earlier, led by Ayush Badoni’s unbeaten 204*, North Zone batters continued to pile misery on East Zone bowlers on the final day of the Duleep Trophy encounter, the result for which was obvious heading into Day 5.
Resuming Saturday’s play on 388 for 2, with a mammoth 563-run lead in hand, North Zone decided to bat on till the end and accept a draw after piling on 658 for 4 in the second innings. Ankit Kumar, who resumed his innings on 168, added 30 runs to his overnight score before falling two runs short of his maiden first-class double century, to Mukhtar Hussain.
However, that wasn’t to deter North’s charge. With little aid for the bowlers, as has been through the first days of play, Nishant Sindhu and Badoni put on a 157-run stand before the former became Utkarsh Singh’s first victim of the match. Utkarsh took the bulk of the bowling workload in the innings and was taken apart for 191 runs. Manishi, who had picked six scalps in the first innings, went wicketless.
For his all-round brilliance (5/28 and 44 runs) Auqib Nabi was declared as the Player of the match. North Zone, who have advanced to the semifinals, will now face South Zone on September 4, 2025.
Brief scores:
North Zone 405 & 658/4 decl (Ayush Badoni 204*, Ankit Kumar 198). East Zone 230 (Virat Singh 69; Auqib Nabi 5/28, Harshit Rana 2/56).
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