Fine bowling spells by paceman Munaf Patel, three wickets for 23, and Nilesh Kulkarni, two for 18, helped West Zone beat North Zone comfortably by six wickets in their Deodhar Trophy one-day match at the S M Dev Stadium at Silchar, Assam.
Electing to bat after winning the toss, North Zone could muster just 160 for eight in their alloted 50 overs which the West Zone overhauled in 37.5 overs for the loss of four wickets.
North Zone presented a pathetic batting display on an unpredictable pitch despite the presence of banned Test cricketer Ajay Jadeja and Test opener Akash Chopra in their team.
Patel and Kulkarni were the pick of the West Zone bowlers while spinner Ramesh Pawar also chipped in with a valuable two for 45.
Chopra could muster only 11 runs, while Jadeja, who was also captaining the side, scored only one.
Mithun Manhas was the highest scorer for North with 44. Replying to the North Zone's 160, West Zone had a solid start before off-spinner Sarandeep Singh snapped both the openers Satyajit Parab (38) and Vinayak Mane (29) but Niraj Patel (33 not out) and Ranjit Khirid (30 not out) ensured there were no hiccups for their side and cruised to victory in only 37.5 overs.
Brief score:
North Zone 160 for 8 in 50 overs (A Ratra 36, R S Sodhi 27, S Singh 25, M Patel 3-23, N Kulkarni 2-18) lost to West Zone 161 for four in 37.5 overs (S Parab 38, V Mane 29, N Patel 33, N Shetty 30, S Singh 2-26).
