Deodhar Trophy: West Zone’s middle-order blues, North’s inconsistency in focus as race for last heats up

With the race for a spot within the Deodhar Trophy last intensifying, North Zone faces West Zone in an important fourth-round match on the Siechem Stadium in Puducherry on Sunday.

While West has its fortunes in its palms with two wins in three video games, North has ceded its mandate to different groups, having received just one recreation in its marketing campaign to date. It is at the moment fourth within the six-team desk and has a slender probability of constructing the summit conflict.

Priyank Panchal’s males enter the conflict after pulling off an exhilarating heist in opposition to Central Zone, rising victorious by only one wicket on Friday.

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The group suffered a middle-order collapse for the second time in succession after a 12-run loss to South Zone in spherical three, the place half the facet perished below 100 in a 206-run chase. 

However, in opposition to Central, Atit Sheth’s run-a-ball fifty, Rajvardhan Hangargekar’s quickfire knock (24 off 12), and Chintan Gaja’s useful lower-order contribution helped West snatch 4 useful factors.

Domestic heavyweights Ankeet Bawane, Sarfaraz Khan and Rahul Tripathi, the spine of West’s batting, have been mercurial. While Sarfaraz has seemed good in patches, Bawane and Tripathi have did not spend time within the center.

Captain Panchal, nevertheless, could be happy with the group’s bowling efficiency. In all three video games, greater than 5 bowlers have added a wicket to their identify, demonstrating the group’s wide selection of choices with the ball.

Contrastingly, issues have been troublesome for Nitish Rana’s facet after dropping two essential encounters.

The group’s imbalance throughout departments has emerged as a cause for its letdown within the match.

While younger seamers Mayank Yadav and Harshit Rana have shared the heavy load of the wicket-taking duties, the skilled duo of Sandeep Sharma and Mayank Markande have been out of contact.

Sandeep conceded 89 runs in his 10-over quota in opposition to East Zone, whereas Markande went for 73 in his eight. They have solely accounted for 4 wickets collectively whereas leaking 294 runs in 49 overs at a regarding mixed strike charge of 73.5.

North’s batting has additionally been inconsistent. It was bundled out for 60 by South in its marketing campaign opener, the bottom complete ever within the match, however bounced again with a 300-plus complete in opposition to Central on the again of an attacking Prabhsimran Singh (121 off 107) hundred, earlier than struggling in opposition to a potent East bowling assault throughout a 338-run chase.

West will look to beat a middle-order conundrum and North will try for consistency because the winner of this contest will take a major step within the course of subsequent week’s last.