Duleep Trophy: East Zone Cruise Through as Shahbaz, Anukul Shine; North Zone Hold Edge

East Zone and North Zone have won their respective quarter-final matches to advance to the semi-finals of the 2026–27 Duleep Trophy.
North Zone will face South Zone in the first semi-final. East Zone, who beat North East Zone in the other quarter-final, will meet defending champions Central Zone, in the second semi-final.

East Zone vs North East Zone

East Zone crushed North East Zone by an innings and 210 runs in the Duleep Trophy quarter-final to book their place in the semi-finals. Shahbaz Ahmed’s 167 and Anukul Roy’s five-wicket haul helped East Zone secure the huge win over North East Zone in the Duleep Trophy quarter-final at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2 on August 26.

East Zone put up 467 in their first innings before Abhijit Sarkar’s five-wicket haul bowled out North East Zone for 111. After being asked to follow on, North East Zone were dismissed for 146, with Anukul taking five wickets as East Zone completed a one-sided victory.

Shahbaz and Gharami Lead East Zone’s Big Score

Shahbaz played a key part in East Zone’s big total, making 167 from 244 balls with 17 fours and four sixes. Sudip Kumar Gharami also made a major contribution, scoring 146 off 185 balls, including 25 fours and a six.

East Zone had been reduced to 138 for five before Gharami and Shahbaz steadied the innings with an important partnership. Even after Gharami departed, Shahbaz kept pushing East Zone towards a big score. They eventually reached 467 in 112.5 overs.

Sarkar Triggers North East Zone Collapse

orth East Zone found it difficult to handle the East Zone attack and were bowled out for 111 in 42.5 overs. Sarkar stood out with the ball, finishing with 5/20 from 9.5 overs.

Shahbaz also contributed with 3/20. Arpit Bhatewara was the highest scorer with 32, while captain Rongsen Jonathan made 21. The remaining batters could not offer much resistance.

Anukul Seals East Zone’s Victory

North East Zone were in trouble again soon after the follow-on, slipping to 10 for one. Pheiroijam Jotin tried to hold the innings together with 39, while Akash Choudhary made 27 and Kishan Lyngdoh scored 25.

Anukul then took control, ending with 5/37 from 15 overs. Young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also picked up two wickets, while Mukesh Kumar and Sarkar took one each.

North East Zone were finally bowled out for 146 in 50 overs, giving East Zone a comprehensive innings-and-210-run victory.

North Zone vs West Zone

North Zone beat West Zone by 52 runs in the second quarter-final of the 2026-27 Duleep Trophy. Left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq was the star, taking 9 wickets in the match. He finished with 5/39 in the first innings and 4/60 in the second to trouble Ruturaj Gaikwad’s West Zone side.

West Zone needed 67 runs with 3 wickets left on the final day. North Zone finished the job in only 6.3 overs, bowling West Zone out for 234.

Mushtaq Finishes the Job

West Zone had looked set to win after reaching 211/4 on Day 4. Musheer Khan and Gaikwad had put together a century stand, but Mushtaq helped turn the match around late in the day. He struck with the second ball of the final morning, removing Tanush Kotian. The ball stayed low and went through the defence to hit middle stump.

Tushar Deshpande then faced 17 balls before trying to attack Mushtaq in his third over. The spinner got the ball to move in from around the wicket, leading to an edge that Abdul Samad took at slip. Three balls later, Urvil Patel was trapped lbw for 25 while trying to attack Nishant Sindhu’s left-arm spin.

Arshdeep Makes His Return Count

Arshdeep Singh also played an important role for North Zone in his first red-ball match in almost a year. He took 4 wickets in the match, including 3 in the first innings. His late movement caused problems for West Zone’s top order as he moved the ball both ways.

Anshul Kamboj also had a strong game. He scored 60 in the first innings to help North recover from 161/7 and reach 251. He then dismissed Shams Mulani and Kotian in quick succession with the old ball. North gained a 64-run lead before Ayush Badoni’s second half-century of the match helped them build a bigger lead.

Ultimately, North Zone won the match with a 52-run margin, sealing their victory early on the final morning thanks to Abid Mushtaq’s clinical bowling display.

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