West Zone score 178-run
win over North

A sparkling, unbeaten century by North Zone opener Akash Chopra went in vain as West Zone registered a convincing 178-run victory and secured eight points on the fourth and final day of the Duleep Trophy match in Pune on Friday.

Chasing a victory target of 432 runs, Chopra gave North a good start, and scored 119 runs off 257 balls, with 18 fours. But his effort was in vain as other bastmen could not withstand West's bowling attack and were bundled out for 253 runs.

Barring Vikram Rathore, who made 44 runs, the other batsmen caved in meekly. Shafiq Khan managed to make 26 runs while Kanwaljeet Singh and Vineet Sharma failed to open their account.

Sarandeep Singh, who made 72 in the first innings, was sent back to the pavilion for 10 runs. Mithun Manhas, Rahul Sanghvi and Ashish Nehra too could not contribute much.

Leg spinner Sairaj Bahutule once again ripped through the North batting, claiming four wickets, while Irfan Pathan and Rajesh Powar also claimed three wickets each.

In the first innings, too, Bahutule demolished North, bagging a five-wicket haul.

After their two Duleep Trophy matches, West have secured 16 points while North have five points.

Mail Cricket Editor