J-K all-rounder plays pivotal role as North Zone beats West Zone to book place in Duleep Trophy semis

Jammu and Kashmir all-rounder Abid Mushtaq produced a stunning performance, finishing with nine wickets as North Zone beat West Zone by 52 runs in the Duleep Trophy quarter-final at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. He was very effective on the morning of Day 4, securing a stunning win for the North. 

West, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, began the day needing 67 runs for victory, while North required three wickets to complete the job. Mushtaq made the breakthrough almost immediately, removing Tanush Kotian with the second ball of the morning. The delivery stayed low, beat Kotian’s defence and



struck middle stump.

Tushar Deshpande then resisted for 17 balls before attempting to attack Mushtaq in his third over. Deshpande moved down the track but found an edge through to Abdul Samad at slip, with the spin bowling from around the wicket proving difficult to control.

West’s chase ended three deliveries later. Urvil Patel was trapped lbw for 25 while attempting to attack Nishant Sindhu, ending the match before the visitors could add to their overnight position. On Day 4, only 6.3 overs were played and that was enough for North, who arrived at the match as underdogs.