Opener Naman Ojha hit a century and RP Singh returned a five-wicket haul as Central Zone defeated Virender Sehwag-led North by 70 runs in the second round of the inter-zonal one-day tournament for the Deodhar Trophy at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Monday.
Sent in to bat, Central Zone hit an imposing 293 for three in their 50 overs. Ojha top-scored with a sparkling 110 made off 130 deliveries with 10 fours and two sixes.
Ojha laid a solid foundation for the Mohammed Kaif's outfit, sharing a first wicket stand of 163 runs with Faiz Fazal who scored 66 in 93 balls with four fours.
Suresh Raina chipped in with 42 and Kaif remained unbeaten on a quickfire 34 off just 22 balls.
It was a struggle all the way for North.
North, in reply, started on a disastrous note, losing four batsmen with just 12 runs on the board.
RP Singh produced an impressive burst that saw Shikar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir and Rajat Bhatia back in the pavilion without scoring in his very first over. Singh then trapped Akash Chopra lbw for 11 leaving the side in a tight spot.
With the departure of Virat Kohli for 16, North were 60 for five. Then came the sixth wicket partnership between Sehwag and Uday Kaul (55) who put on 92 runs.
Sehwag made 81 before being adjudged lbw to Sandeep Singh. His 73-ball knock included 11 fours and three sixes.
North were all out for 223 in 42.2 overs.
Brief scores: Central Zone: 293 for 3 in 50 overs (Ojha 110, Fazal 66, Raina 42, Kaif 34 not out, Manpreet Gony 1/45, Sehwag 1/56, Pradeep Sangwan 1/67) vs North Zone: 223 all out in 42.2 overs (Sehwag 81, Kaul 55, Amit Mishra 43, R P Singh 5/36, Sandeep Singh 2/43).
