Duleep Trophy 2026: Shahbaz Ahmed, Anukul Roy Power East Zone Into Semi-Final With Innings Win

East Zone thrashed North East Zone by an innings and 210 runs on Tuesday to secure a spot in the Duleep Trophy semifinals. The quarterfinal match concluded at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2 on August 25, 2026.

The dominant victory materialised after East Zone posted a massive 467. They then dismissed their opponents for 111 and 146 across two innings.

Shahbaz Ahmed anchored the triumph with a brilliant 167, while Anukul Roy sealed the game with a five-wicket haul in the second innings.

Shahbaz and Gharami Shine

East Zone initially faltered, slipping to a precarious 138 for five before fighting back. They eventually amassed 467 in 112.5 overs.

Shahbaz led the recovery, slamming 167 off 244 balls with 17 fours and four sixes.

Sudip Kumar Gharami offered excellent support at the crease. He smashed 146 off 185 balls, hitting 25 fours and one six. The duo shared a valuable partnership to rebuild the innings.

Sarkar Triggers First Collapse

North East Zone struggled against the bowling attack and folded for 111 in 42.5 overs in their first innings.

Pacer Abhijit Sarkar dismantled the opposition, returning exceptional figures of 5-20 from 9.5 overs. Shahbaz complemented the attack by claiming 3-20.

Arpit Bhatewara top-scored for his side with 32, while captain Rongsen Jonathan made 21. The rest of the batting order collapsed without putting up much resistance.

Roy Spins Follow On

Forced to follow on, North East Zone were soon in trouble again at 10 for one. They succumbed to the pressure and folded for 146 in 50 overs.

Roy spearheaded the second-innings demolition, capturing 5-37 in his 15 overs. Pheiroijam Jotin scored 39 to offer minor resistance, while Akash Choudhary added 27 and Kishan Lyngdoh made 25.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi claimed two wickets to support the attack, while Mukesh Kumar and Sarkar took one wicket each. India quick Mohammed Shami went wicketless across both innings.