Atit Sheth’s calm and collected unbeaten half-century (53, 53b, 4x4, 2x6) in the midst of distress led West Zone to a one-wicket win over Central Zone in a humdinger of a contest in the Deodhar Trophy at the Siechem stadium in Puducherry on Friday.
Harvik Desai (57, 86b, 8x4, 2x6) and captain Priyank Panchal gave West solid start before Central opener Shivam Chaudhary turned out with his golden arm to break the back of West’s chase.
Karn Sharma, Aditya Sarwate and part-timer Yash Kothari also played their part in the middle-overs choke-hold on a slowing pitch, before Rajvardhan Hangargekar’s whirlwind innings (24, 12b, 1x4, 2x6) coupled with Sheth’s street-smart cricket helped West pull off a heist to secure its second win in the tournament.
Earlier in the day, Shivam Mavi’s late flourish (47, 39b, 3x4, 3x6) helped Central to a competitive total, finishing on 243 at the end of its 50-over essay.
The Central innings had got off to a calamitous start, with both openers being dismissed within the first five overs. Sheth and Hangargekar pinned the batters down in the first powerplay, conceding only 18 runs.
Yash Dubey and Upendra Yadav fought back, stitching up a 50-run stand, with the pair going after left-arm spinner Shams Mulani to give the innings the necessary impetus.
After Chintan Gaja trapped Upendra, in front to break the partnership, skipper Venkatesh Iyer and Dubey put on a 45-run stand before Dubey was dismissed one short of a half-century.
Venkatesh looked in an aggressive mood, running down the track regularly, playing his familiar offensive game before it resulted in his undoing as he perished trying to loft Mulani over mid-wicket.
Mulani also got the wicket of the dangerous Rinku Singh for 15, as Central struggled to unlock a higher gear in its innings. Karn Sharma played a smart knock of 44 , using his experience to full effect, adding some quick runs before being runout.
Mavi then displayed a mix of power and precision in the last five overs to provide the final push and ensure that the bowlers had a sizeable target to defend.
The scores: Central Zone 243/7 in 50 overs (Yash Dubey 49, Venkatesh Iyer 43, Karn Sharma 44, Shivam Mavi 47 n.o.) lost to West Zone 244/9 in 49.4 overs (Harvik Desai 57, Priyank Panchal 36, Atit Sheth 53 n.o., Shivam Chaudhary 4/18).
