Bengaluru, Aug 25 (IANS) Shahbaz Ahmed’s commanding 167 and Anukul Roy’s five-wicket haul powered East Zone to an innings and 210-run win over North East Zone in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2 on Tuesday.

East Zone first posted a mammoth 467 before Abhijit Sarkar’s five-wicket haul helped bowl North East Zone out for 111 in their first innings. After being sent to bat again through a follow-on, North East Zone managed 146, with Anukul Roy finishing with five wickets as East Zone completed a dominant victory.

Shahbaz was at the heart of East Zone’s imposing first-innings total, scoring 167 off 244 balls with 17 fours and four sixes. Sudip Kumar Gharami also played a key role, making 146 off 185 balls with 25 fours and a six.

East Zone were reduced to 138 for five before Gharami and Shahbaz steadied the innings and turned the game firmly in their team’s favour. Shahbaz continued after Gharami’s dismissal to take East Zone towards a match-winning total of 467 runs.

North East Zone struggled from the outset in reply and were bowled out for 111 in 42.5 overs. Sarkar returned impressive figures of 5-20 in 9.5 overs, while Shahbaz claimed 3-20.

Arpit Bhatewara was their top scorer with 32, while Rongsen Jonathan made 21. The rest of the batting line-up failed to offer much resistance against East Zone’s disciplined attack.

Forced to follow on, North East Zone again found themselves in trouble at 10 for one and never recovered. Pheiroijam Jotin offered some resistance with 39, while Akash Choudhary made 27 and Kishan Lyngdoh scored 25.

Anukul then took control with the ball, claiming 5-37 from 15 overs to complete a five-wicket haul. Roy was well supported by youngster Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who took two wickets, while Mukesh Kumar and Sarkar picked up one each.

North East Zone were eventually dismissed for 146 in 50 overs, giving East Zone a comprehensive innings victory.

While youngsters shone with their good lengths and wicket-taking deliveries, East Zone's most experienced pacer Mohammed Shami had a poor start to the domestic season as he was not able to take wickets in both innings. The Indian stalwart would look to improve his record in the semifinal.

Brief scores: East Zone 467 (Shahbaz Ahmed 167, Sudip Kumar Gharami 146, Kumar Kushagra 55; Pheiroijam Jotin 3-64, Akash Choudhary 3-102) beat North East Zone 111 & 146 (Pheiroijam Jotin 39, Akash Choudhary 27; Anukul Roy 5-37, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 2-11) by an innings and 210 runs.

--IANS

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