West Zone won the Deodhar Trophy in style thrashing North Zone by 113 runs in the final here on Monday.
Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane played the star turn for West, striking a 122-ball 118, studded with 15 boundaries and a six, to guide his side to a staggering 355 for four in 50 overs. Another India player, Munaf Patel, shone with the ball, taking four wickets as North were bowled out for 242 in 42.2 overs.
Patel returned figures of four for 34 in eight overs sealing the issue for West within the first Powerplay.East captain Wriddhiman Saha may have erred by putting West in to bat in the semifinal, it was Harbhajan Singh’s turn to make that same mistake as West openers Parthiv Patel
and Ajinkya Rahane went on a rampage adding 131 runs.
With Parvinder Awana not in the North line-up, pacers Manpreet Gony, Pradeep Sangwan and Rishi Dhawan leaked runs.
{{/usCountry}}With Parvinder Awana not in the North line-up, pacers Manpreet Gony, Pradeep Sangwan and Rishi Dhawan leaked runs.
{{/usCountry}}Chasing 356 was always going to be difficult and Munaf knocked the stuffing out of North dismissing Nitin Saini (2), Shikhar Dhawan (0), Paras Dogra (11) and Yashpal Singh (0) as they were left reeling at 25 for four.
The only saving grace for North was a 97 run partnership for the seventh wicket between Bipul Sharma and Harbhajan (30) which helped them cross 200-run mark.
Brief scores: West Zone 355/4 (A Rahane 118, P Patel 78) North Zone 242 in 42.2 overs (B Sharma 68; M Patel 4/34)