Duleep Trophy: East and North Zones take control in quarter-finals

In the Duleep Trophy 2026 quarter-finals held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, East Zone secured a dominant position against North East Zone. Following a massive first-innings total of 467, fueled by Sudip Kumar Gharami’s 146 and Shahbaz Ahmed’s career-best 167, East Zone dismissed North East Zone for 111. East Zone subsequently enforced the follow-on, leading by 349 runs after North East Zone reached 7/0 in their second innings.

In the other quarter-final matchup, North Zone established a significant advantage over West Zone. North Zone posted 251 in their first innings, while West Zone was bowled out for 187. Abid Mushtaq led the bowling attack for North Zone with figures of 5/39, supported by Arshdeep Singh’s 3/53. West Zone’s innings was highlighted by Shams Mulani’s 52. North Zone ended the second day at 107/4 in their second innings, holding an overall lead of 171 runs.