9th March 2010 - DNA: Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Yusuf Pathan hit Central Zone bowlers all round the park as West Zone reached the final of the Deodhar Trophy at the Moti Bagh Stadium here on Monday. The Parthiv Patel-side recorded an emphatic 216-run win. West will meet North Zone in the summit clash on Tuesday.
In reply to West’s mammoth 335 for eight in the allotted 50 overs, Central were bundled out for 119 inside 30 overs.
Central’s decision to field proved good as they got success as early as the fourth over of West innings when Chirag Pathak (5) departed with only 16 on the board. But young guns — Pujara (86 off 99b; 7x4, 2x6) and Rahane (76 off 105b; 5x4, 2x6) — steadied the ship with a 154-run partnership for the second wicket.
Taking full advantage of the home conditions, Yusuf was in his usual murderous mood, hitting a 24-ball 59, to take the match away from the opponents. The swashbuckling middle-order batsman hit half -a-dozen sixes and four boundaries as West Zone gathered 70 runs in batting power play. Ravindra Jadeja’s cameo (42 off 18) ensured West reach 335/8.
The chase was always going to be difficult for the Central outfit, though it had in-form Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif in their ranks. After opener Naman Ojha’s (5) early dismissal, Central struggled to get going. Apart from Harpreet Singh (35) and TP Singh (26), none of the batsmen showed any resistance. Left-arm spinner Jadeja wrapped up the proceedings with a figure of 4/8 in his 4.4-over spell.
“That was the turning point of the match. Though we lost an early wicket but Rahane and Pujara played as per our plans before Yusuf showed his strength. We scored 70 runs in the third power play,” Parthiv said after the match.
Brief scores: West Zone 335/8 (C Pujara 86, A Rahane 76, Yusuf Pathan 59, R Jadeja 42; Pankaj Singh 4/38) bt Central Zone 119 (R Jadeja 4-8) by 216 runs
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_west-face-north-in-final-of-the-deodhar-trophy_1356931
Back