East restrict North to 260 for 7

RAJKOT, February 11: Disciplined bowling performances by pacers Shib Shanker Paul and Debasis Mohanty helped East Zone restrict defending champions North Zone to 260 for the loss of seven wickets on the opening day of four-day Duleep Trophy match being played at the Madhavrao Scindia ground on Monday.
North Zone skipper Mithun Manhas won the toss and decided to bat.But NZ openers Aakash Chopra and Shikhar Dhawan failed to gave good start. Paul provided the breakthrough by scalping Chopra (10, 52b, 1x4) and then dismissed Karan Goel for naught. While his new ball partner Debasis Mohanty got Dhawan (18, 68b, 2x4) and reduced North to 27 for 3 in the first hour of play.
But a defiant knock by North captain Manhas and his two useful partnerships with Yashpal Singh (25, 52b, 4x4) and Rajat Bhatia (24, 56b, 3x4) helped his side recover from the early jolts. Manhas who reached his half century off just 67 balls with 9 fours and a six departed after the tea break.
North Zone: 260 for 7 (Manhas 88, Mishra 52, Paul 4-60) vs East Zone