West Zone bowl out North Zone for 251 in Duleep Trophy, close day 31/2

West Zone bowled out North Zone for 251 at the Centre of Excellence on the opening day of their Duleep Trophy match. West Zone finished the day at 31/2.

Tushar Deshpande and Tanish Kotian were the architects of the collapse, returning figures of 4/57 and 4/72 respectively as North slipped from 117/2 to a vulnerable position. North lost seven wickets for 103 runs after that point and were 220/9 before a late counterattack lifted the total past 250. Anshul Kamboj produced an aggressive 60 off 52 balls, striking five fours and five sixes, while Ayush Badoni contributed a fluent 51.

Kotian’s off-spin accounted for key dismissals, including the wicket of Ayush Doseja for 42, which fell to a catch by Urvil Patel. Kotian opened the bowling and returned later to clean up the tail, while Deshpande applied brisk pace to run through North’s middle order. Their combined effort converted promising starts from the top and middle order into a collapse.

Kotian’s performance arrived after a mixed recent run in his career: he had been called up as Ravichandran Ashwin’s replacement during India’s 2024-25 tour of Australia but did not play, toured England with India A in 2025, and saw an indifferent 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season allow Saransh Jain to move ahead of him and earn a Test cap. Kotian responded on the opening day by opening the bowling and then returning to make a telling impact.

North’s innings contained a few notable individual contributions amid the collapse. Ayush Badoni’s 51 was one of the more substantial efforts, Yash Dhull endured a difficult outing and was dismissed by Shardul Thakur, and Shivalik Sharma was dismissed by Abid Mushtaq. Anshul Kamboj’s late counterattack ultimately pushed North beyond 250 after the slide towards the end of the innings.

North’s team selection also drew attention after the match, with the omission of opener Sanat Sangwan — who had scored more than 800 runs in the Ranji Trophy — singled out as surprising as the top and middle order failed to convert starts. The combination of selection questions and the late lower-order hitting shaped the narrative of North’s innings.

The match therefore remains delicately poised despite West Zone’s dominant bowling effort, with West Zone 31/2 at the close of the opening day.