West Zone thrash East to make it to Deodhar final

Mohali: A fantastic century by Kedar Jadhav and career-best List A figures for left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla helped West Zone crush East by 108 runs to make it to the final of the Deodhar Trophy on Saturday.

East Zone skipper Wriddhiman Saha opted to field but all the top-order batsmen from West got runs with Jadhav hammering 114 off 69 deliveries with 17 boundaries and two sixes as they scored 342 for seven in 50 overs. Cheteshwar Pujara (70, 85 balls, 6x4), skipper Parthiv Patel (69, 76 balls, 9x4) also made significant contributions. In reply, East were never really in the hunt as they lost wickets at regular intervals to get all-out for 234 in exactly 40 overs. Saurabh Tiwary (112 not out, 95 balls, 16x4) played a lone hand but lacked support at the other end as the next best score came from Shahbaz Nadeem (26). It was 22-year-old Abdulla who was the pick of the bowlers scalping six for 32 in only seven overs. India discard Munaf Patel also bowled seven overs with figures of none for 30 to show for his efforts. The day however belonged to Maharashtra batsman Jadhav who smashed the East bowlers to all corners. His partebrship of 171 runs for the third wicket with Pujara came in only 23.2 overs at an average of 7.32 runs per over. While Pujara dropped anchor at one end, Jadhav punished the East bowlers with each and everyone of them getting a fair bit of stick. Pacer Mohammed Shami got four wickets but also went for 62 runs while Abu Nechim went wicketless in his seven overs that cost him 61. Orissa`s Biplab Samantray went for 50 in his six overs. It was Surya Yadav`s little cameo of 27 from 11 balls that took the target beyond east`s reach. Brief Scores: West Zone 342/7 (K Jadhav 114, C Pujara 70, P Patel 69, Md Shami 4/62). East Zone 234 in 40 overs (S Tiwary 112, I Abdulla 6/32). West won by 108 runs. PTI