West Zone faltered in the run chase of 287 against North Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2026 quarterfinal. Despite Musheer Khan's 96 and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad's 70-ball 66, West Zone were bowled out for 234. From 195/3, West Zone lost seven wickets for 39 runs. Left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq followed up a five-wicket haul in the first innings with a four-fer, leading North Zone to the semifinal where they will face South Zone.
No fight on Day 4
West Zone were 220/7 at the end of Day 3's play. On Day 4, they needed 57 more runs to win with three wickets in hand. Mushtaq took just two deliveries to find the breakthrough. Tanush Kotian got bowled for a three-ball duck. Tushar Deshpande walked out to bat ahead of Shardul Thakur. Deshpande scored five runs from 18 balls. He fell to Mushtaq as well.
Urvil Patel survived a DRS call and wasn't given out caught behind as North Zone did not have a review left. But, it did not turn out to be expensive as Nishant Sindhu trapped Patel in front of the wicket, leading North Zone to a 52-run win. Thakur remained stranded on the non-striker end without facing a ball.
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Bowlers dominate in Bengaluru
Earlier, on Day 1, North Zone skipper Kanhaiya Wadhawan won the toss and opted to bat first. Ayush Badoni's ODI-like half-century and Anshul Kamboj's 52-ball 50 helped North Zone post 251. Kotian and Deshpande bagged four-fers.
In reply, West Zone were bowled out for 187. Shams Mulani played a gritty knock of 52 from 94 balls. Mushtaq claimed a fifer whereas Arshdeep Singh and Kamboj bagged three and two wickets respectively.
The 64-run lead came in handy. Badoni scored another half-century, Sindhu's 44 and Kamboj's cameo helped North Zone post 222 and set a target of 287. For West Zone, Mulani and Kotian registered four-fers.
Musheer, Gaikwad’s spirited attack in vain
In the run chase, West Zone lost both openers early to pacers. Musheer and Gaikwad revived the run chase. They shared an 111-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Then, Gaikwad was run out for 66 and Musheer fell to Sindhu, missing his ton by four runs. The lower-order failed and West Zone got knocked out of the tournament. It is not clear whether Thakur batted at no.11 due to an injury or it was management's call.
Mushtaq was named ‘Player of the match’ for taking nine wickets.