Captain Ankit Kumar and Yash Dhull hit hundreds to place North Zone on the cusp of the Duleep Trophy semi-finals in Bengaluru on Saturday.

With a big 175-run first innings lead, Ankit (168 batting) and Dhull (133) strengthened the situation for their team, taking the second-innings total to a mammoth 388/2 at the end of Day III for an overall lead of 563.

For East, their bowlers had a harrowing time on the field, with pace spearhead Mohammed Shami finishing wicketless in his 11 overs and troubling the batters a little bit with his occasional movement. Shami didn’t bowl in the day’s final session, and given how this game went for him, it does turn out as a further setback to his Test return.

The injury-enforced absence of Bengal pacer Mukesh Kumar also hurt East.

However, the third day of this quarter-final game was all about the ruthlessness of North in extending their supremacy through Ankit and Dhull as the duo milked 240 runs for the second wicket off just 290 balls. They did it in their own way. Dhull was all aggression while Ankit went about his task in a more mellowed manner.

After the early dismissal of Shubham Khajuria (21), who was castled by Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, East Zone bowlers struggled to make any impact on the North pair.

In the other quarter-final clash, Central Zone had put one foot in the semi-finals with a decisive first innings lead of 347 early during the day. And by the end of it, the lead swelled to a mammoth 678, courtesy Shubham Sharma’s hundred. Central ended the third day at 331/7 in their second innings.

A patient batting effort from from Madhya Pradesh skipper Shubham (122) and quickfire half-centuries by skipper Rajat Patidar (66 off 72 balls) and Yash Rathod (78 off 83 balls) have more or less buried their opponents’ hopes as they rendered the final day to a mere formality.

SUMMARISED SCORES

l North Zone 405 & 388/2 (Ankit Kumar 168 batting, Yash Dhull 133). East Zone 230.

l Central Zone 532/4 decl. & 331/7 decl. (Shubham Sharma 122). North East Zone 185

Stumps, Day III

Written with PTI inputs