Duleep Trophy: Abid Mushtaq, Sindhu wrap up tail as North set up semis date with South Zone

Bengaluru: With West Zone needing 67 runs and North Zone three wickets away from victory, both teams began the fourth and final day of their Duleep Trophy quarterfinal with a win in sight on Wednesday. North were banking on their spinners, while West hoped their capable tailenders, including Shardul Thakur, could help Urvil Patel pull off an unlikely escape at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here. But it took North just 28 minutes to wrap up West, adding only 14 runs to their overnight total of 220 and securing a semifinal date with South Zone, starting Aug 30. Jammu & Kashmir left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq, who finished with a match haul of nine wickets, uprooted Tanush Kotian's middle stump in the second over to set the wheels in motion. Bowling with accuracy and a flatter trajectory, Abid then had Tushar Deshpande caught sharply at first slip by Abdul Samad. Fellow spinner Nishant Sindhu trapped Urvil leg before wicket to bring the match to an end. Shardul, who walked in at No. 11, did not even face a ball. West had lost the plot late on Tuesday, collapsing from 209/3 to 234 all out as they lost four wickets for 25 runs. Before the late collapse, North Zone left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh was already looking forward to returning to Punjab. "I was thinking about 'Sher-e-Punjab', going back home, and what time ticket should I book!" said Arshdeep, who claimed four wickets in the match. 133560479

Brief scores: North Zone 251 & 222 bt West Zone 187 & 234 (overnight 220/7) all out in 57.3 overs (Abid Mushtaq 4/60, Nishant Sindhu 2/59). Semifinals lineup: North vs South; East vs Central

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