Ayush Badoni’s Rapid Fifty Lifts North Zone to 308/6 on Day One Against East Zone in Duleep Trophy Quarterfinal

Bengaluru, Aug 28 (TTP): Ayush Badoni’s aggressive half-century powered North Zone to 308/6 in 75.2 overs on the opening day of their Duleep Trophy quarterfinal clash against East Zone at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence on Thursday. Despite a strong spell from East Zone’s left-arm spinner Manishi, who claimed three wickets before lunch, Badoni’s fluent 63 off 60 balls ensured North Zone crossed the 300-run mark before rain brought early stumps.

Electing to bowl first, East Zone relied on the pace duo of Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar, but the conditions offered little assistance. It was Manishi who made the crucial breakthroughs, triggering a mini-collapse by dismissing Ankit Kumar, Shubham Khajuria, and Yash Dhull before lunch.

With regular skipper Shubman Gill unavailable due to fever, Ankit Kumar led North Zone and opened the innings alongside Khajuria. The pair put on a 49-run stand before Manishi turned the tide. However, Badoni’s counterattacking approach changed the momentum. He struck seven boundaries and added valuable partnerships of 67 with Dhull (39) and 61 with Nishant Sindhu (47), taking the score past 300.

Badoni eventually fell to Mukhtar Hussain, caught behind by wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra, just after reaching his fifty. Sindhu too looked solid, hitting four fours and two sixes in his 70-ball knock before being dismissed by Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal.

Later, Kanhaiya Wadhawan (42* off 92 balls) and Sahil Lotra tried to steady the innings, but Shami, who had toiled hard all day, finally got a reward by sending Lotra back for 19. Towards the end, Wadhawan, in company with Mayank Dagar (28* off 22), kept the scoreboard ticking before rain forced early stumps.

North Zone will resume Day Two with hopes of building on their solid total, while East Zone will look to strike early to stay in the contest.

Brief Scores:

North Zone 308/6 in 75.2 overs (Ayush Badoni 63, Nishant Sindhu 47, Kanhaiya Wadhawan 42*; Manishi 3-90, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 1-40) vs East Zone.