Harpreet Singh knocked off 62 runs in 42 balls © Associated Press
Madhya Pradesh batsman Harpreet Singh‘s 42-ball 62 powered Central Zone to a comfortable six-wicket win over West Zone in the opening game at the Wankhede Stadium. They chased down 161 with 10 balls to spare. Harpreet, who his four sixes and two fours, was dismissed by Irfan Pathan in the 18th over, but his 79-run association in 7.3 overs with Mahesh Rawat (30 not out off 22 balls) for the fourth wicket had already put the game out of West Zone’s reach.
Central Zone didn’t have to chase more than what they did was a result of a good bowling effort after captain Naman Ojha elected to field. West Zone got off to a decent start courtesy the Gujarat duo of captain Parthiv Patel and Priyank Panchal, but Parthiv’s dismissal in the fourth over resulted in the fall of three more wickets in the next four overs. Having lost the cream of their batting line-up – Parthiv, Panchal, Shreyas Iyer and Kedar Jadhav – West Zone were wilting at 48 for 4 and slumped further when Irfan Pathan was run out in the 11th over.
The rescue act came via Aditya Tare (40 off 33) and Deepak Hooda, who added 47 in 5.3 overs. Despite left-arm seamer Aniket Choudhary removing Tare in the 16th over, Hooda continued to attack and finished with an unbeaten 49 off 26 balls, including four sixes, to muster a competitive total. While seamers Choudhary and Amit Sharma picked up five wickets between them, legspinner Karn Sharma (1 for 24) and left-arm spinner Sohraab Dhaliwal (1-21) bowled tight spells as well.
Ojha was named captain after Suresh Raina pulled out of the tournament. Central Zone coach Harvinder Singh Sodhi said Raina’s unavailability was communicated via an email sent on February 10 by Bhoopinder Singh Bhatti, the secretary of the Vidarbha Cricket Association. According to Sodhi, no reason for Raina’s withdrawal was mentioned in the mail.
Arun Venugopal is a correspondent at ESPNcricinfo. @scarletrun
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo