Leggie Zeeshan stands tall for UP in Cooch Behar Trophy quarters
LUCKNOW: Playing just his second match of the season, young leggie Zeeshan Ansari underlined his potential, bagging four wickets to help hosts and former champions Uttar Pradesh finish the day at par with Delhi in their quarterfinal match of the Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy on Thursday.
Former youth World Cupper and Lucknow’s Zeeshan bowled superbly on a fast surface of the Green Park stadium, and took four for 67 as Delhi, which chose to bat first after winning the toss, could score 231 for seven in 83 overs at the rate of 2.78 runs per over.
It was Zeeshan, who put the break on Delhi’s quick start as they had scored 48 in 16 overs, forcing opener Anuj Rawat offer a simple catch to Kartik Tyagi only after scoring 24, which came off 46 balls with the help of three fours.
Zeeshan also had the fellow opener Sanat Sangwan (17, 74b, 2x4) by catching him on his own bowling, before scalping for Priyansh Arya (20, 50b, 2x4), who was caught by Shivam Bansal.
This, however, reduced Delhi to 78/3. But a 50-run fourthwicket partnership between Ayush Badoni and Mayank Rawat helped the visitors cross 100-run mark.
Young seamer Kartik Tyagi accounted for these two. First he shattered the middle stump of Ayush, who struck 96 in 155 balls with the help of 15 fours, and then edging Mayank Rawat (17, 69b, 1x4) for a catch to Aabhishek Pandey. Zeeshan had the last wicket of the day, when his google zoomed past Harsh Tyagi’s (1) bat and pad and struck the leg stump.
The other wicket of the day was bagged by Rajat Nirwal. A 55-run sixth-wicket partnership between Ayush and Yash Raj Madan guided the side get past 200-run mark. Madan (35, 44, 3x4, 2x6) and Hritik Shokeen (2) were at the crease, when the stumps were drawn, seven overs before
the scheduled time. SCORECARD
Delhi (1st Innings): A Rawat c K Tyagi b Z Ansari 24, S Sangwan c&b Z Ansari 17, P Arya c S Bansal b Z Ansari 20, A Badoni b K Tyagi 96, M Rawatc A Pandey b K Tyagi 17, V Kandpal b R Nirwal 11, Y Madan batting
35, H Tyagi b Z Ansari 1, H Shokeen batting 2. Extras (b2, lb6) 8. Total (for 7 wkts; 83 overs)
231. Fall of wickets: 1-48, 2-53, 3-78, 4-128, 5-167, 6-222, 7-228.
Bowling: M Jangra 12-1-45-0, K Tyagi 15-6-19-2, R Nirwal 15-447-1, Z Ansari 23-4-67-4, K Singh 18-2-45-0.