East Zone knocked out North East Zone by an innings and 210 runs to reach the Duleep Trophy semifinals on Tuesday. The quarterfinal clash ended at the BCCI Center of Excellence Ground 2 on August 25. East Zone posted a massive first-innings score of 467 before restricting the opposition to 111 and 146 in their two innings in the three-day match.

East Zone's bowlers did the job for them in style, as they chased down North East Zone's two modest scores, sealing a memorable win for the side.

Shahbaz Ahmed, Gharami Set Up East Zone's Massive Total

East Zone survived the early scare of 138/5, as Shahbaz Ahmed and Sudip Kumar Gharami laid the foundation for the recovery.

Shahbaz Ahmed scored a brilliant 167 runs from 244 balls, which included 17 fours and 4 sixes, while Sudip Kumar Gharami remained unbeaten at 146, hitting 25 fours and a six in his 185 balls.

Their brilliant stand gave the chasers a good platform and a healthy total to defend.

North East Zone failed to deal with the East Zone's attack and were skittled for just 111 in 42.5 overs in the first innings.

Abhijit Sarkar was the standout wicket-taker as he picked up 5 wickets for 20 runs in his 9.5 overs, while Shahbaz also added 3 wickets for 20 runs. Arpit Bhatewara topscored for North East Zone with 32, while captain Rongsen Jonathan scored 21.

Chased down once again, the North East Zone lost the first wicket at 10/1 and were eventually bowled out for just 146 in 50 overs, handing a huge innings victory to the East Zone.

Anukul Roy was sensational with the ball in the second innings as he claimed 5 wickets for 37 runs in his 15 overs. Pheiroijam Jotin scored 39 runs, while Akash Choudhary remained at 27 and Kishan Lyngdoh scored 25.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi picked up two wickets as North East Zone were eventually rolled over. Mukesh Kumar and Abhijit Sarkar took a wicket each. However, India speedster Mohammed Shami did not manage to take a single wicket in either innings.

The thumping innings win by the East Zone will see them qualify for the Duleep Trophy semifinals in style.