Abid Mushtaq's five-wicket haul against West Zone on Monday has tightened North Zone's grip on the Duleep Trophy. The 29-year-old left-arm spinner claimed 5/39 to bowl West out for 187 in 65.4 overs, with North Zone, who secured a 64-run first-innings lead, standing at 107/4 at stumps.
Abid, who has been training on red-soil pitches in Jammu and Kashmir for the past three to four years, made the most of his familiarity with the surface. He bowled with accuracy, attacking the stumps and forcing batters to play, taking three of his five wickets via LBWs.
The Jammu and Kashmir spinner admitted he got "goosebumps" when he saw the red soil, a surface he has grown accustomed to. He made the most of the conditions, producing a spell built on accuracy rather than elaborate variations. Three of his five wickets – Shivalik Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Urvil Patel – came via LBWs.
Gaikwad and Urvil fell within three balls of each other, leaving West reeling at 70/5 in the 28th over. Abid's figures of 11-5-13-3 in the first session summed up his approach. He gave the batters little to work with and had already castled Prithvi Shaw on Sunday evening.
Abid has taken 63 wickets in his last three Ranji Trophy seasons. He kept varying his angle, bowling from both sides of the wicket without compromising on his discipline. Musheer Khan (31) and Shams Mulani (52) briefly stemmed the collapse with a 63-run sixth-wicket partnership, but Abid returned to dismiss Tushar Deshpande (18), completing his five-for.
Anshul Kamboj (2/38) and Arshdeep Singh (3/53) also contributed with the ball as North Zone tightened their grip on the quarterfinal. Meanwhile, at the adjacent ground, Shahbaz Ahmed produced an all-round performance to put East Zone firmly in control against North East Zone.
East Zone, who amassed 467 in 112.5 overs, are in command, with Shahbaz making 167 and Sudip Gharami 146 on the opening day. Shahbaz then took 3/20 as North East were bowled out for 111, with Abhijit Sarkar returning 5/20.
Source: Yahoo Sports