Dhruv Shorey’s Hundred and Nishant Sindhu’s Fifty Shore Up North Zone On Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy

With a cool-headed century on the first day of the four-day Duleep Trophy quarterfinal at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, Dhruv Shorey led North Zone’s attack against North East Zone. (Also in Cricket)

After NE Zone chose to field in the morning, North Zone reached 306 for 6 in 87 overs at close.

With an undefeated 76, Nishant Sindhu also added to the total. After amassing 859 runs from seven matches in the 2022–23 Ranji season at an astonishing average of 95.44 with three hundreds, Delhi’s Shorey was in excellent form going into this match.

The 31-year-old actually finished the previous season as the fourth-highest run scorer in the Ranji Trophy, and his innings that day represented all of that form and experience.

On a pleasant Bengaluru day, Shorey took his time to settle in while the NE pacers Jotin Singh, Palzor Tamang, and Dippu Sangma received support.

They didn’t move away from the batters quickly enough to frighten Shorey and his partner Prashant Chopra, but they did keep them on their toes.

In actuality, just 29 runs were scored in the first 15 overs. However, as they understood the pitching circumstances and bowlers, Shorey and Chopra were able to play more freely as the trickle of runs became heavier.

Even those two wickets, which North Zone had lost before the break at 115 for 2, came as a consequence of carelessness on the part of the batters. Chopra attempted to leave a ball from Jotin, but his hesitation in removing the bat led to a played on.

Left-handed As he had to carry a golden duck while walking, Ankit Kalsi might have easily avoided the poke he made against a delivery from Jotin that was made miles away from the off-stump.

NE also had a few lucky wickets in the post-lunch session when Prabhsimran Singh’s attempt to dominate Imliwati Lemtur led to a Kishen Mietam catch.

Ankit Kumar was subsequently caught by Sangma as North Zone seemed to be in trouble at 162 for 4 in the 46th over. However, Shorey and Nishant extracted 80 runs for the fifth wicket in around 22 overs, which significantly reduced the burden on North.

Shorey and skipper Jayant Yadav were both dismissed by left-arm spinner Kishan Singha after receiving two knocks in as many deliveries, bringing North to 242 for 6.

Nevertheless, with over 30 overs left, North needed a miracle to save them, and it came from Nishant and Pulkit Narang for the seventh wicket, a 64-run partnership.

When the last play of the day was abandoned due to poor lighting, it had put North in a strong position.