Bengaluru, Aug 30 (IANS) Centuries by skipper Ankit Kumar and Yash Dhull powered North Zone to a commanding position against East Zone, as they reached 388/2 in 90 overs at stumps on Day Three of their Duleep Trophy clash at the BCCI COE Ground 1 here on Saturday.

Ankit remained unbeaten on 168 off 264 balls, laced with 16 fours and a six, and shared a solid 240-run partnership with Dhull, who hit 133 off 157 deliveries, including hitting 14 fours and three sixes, as North Zone extended their dominance with a lead standing at a staggering 563 runs.

On a cloudy day, East Zone had no respite as their bowling line-up came under the pump due to Ankit, Dhull, and Badoni. What also hurt them was that they didn’t have the services of pacer Mukesh Kumar due to a possible hamstring strain.

Supporting Ankit in the run-making party is Ayush Badoni, who’s unbeaten on 56 off 78 balls, laced with three boundaries. In the morning, North Zone chose not to enforce the follow-on, and with East Zone bowlers not getting their line and length right, Ankit and Shubham Khajuria shared a 54-run opening stand before the latter was dismissed by Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal.

While Ankit raised his fifty off 74 balls, Dhull was proactive in taking the attack to spinners Manishi and Riyan Parag, and eventually reached his fifty in just 49 balls. The duo were largely untroubled throughout their partnership, with Dhull scoring a century off 112 balls, while Ankit raised his ton off 155 deliveries.

But Dhull’s stay ended soon after the tea break when he was trapped lbw by Parag, while attempting to pull a short ball that skidded through. With the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Akash Deep, Jitesh Sharma, Shardul Thakur, B. Sai Sudharsan, and Karun Nair in attendance, Ankit got past 150 while Badoni went past fifty before stumps were called on a super productive day for North Zone.

Brief scores:

North Zone 405 and 388/2 in 90 overs (Ankit Kumar 168 not out, Yash Dhull 133; Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 1-37, Riyan Parag 1-63) lead East Zone 230 all out in 56.1 overs (Virat Singh 69; Auqib Nabi 5-28) by 563 runs

–IANS

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