Despite Pankaj Satpute's (4 for 29) rich haul,West Zone lost to North Zone by 42 runs in the final of Ist Rajiv Gandhi All India Inter Zonal Under-15 National League Cricket Championship for the Royal Empire Cup that concluded at Cricket Stadium,Sector 3,Panchkula. Batting first after winning the toss,North Zone lost their first wicket on 15. The wicket fall triggered a collapse,and soon North Zone were reduced to 47 for 4 inside 10 overs. Thereafter,Gurnek Singh and Animesh Goyal staged a fightback and added 52 useful runs for the fifth wicket.The duo batted sensibly and labourously knocked the ball around,dealing in singles and doubles,and kept picking up the odd boundaries. Gurnek top scored with an individual score of 35 runs.Pankaj Satpute bowled well to scalp four wickets for 29 runs. North Zone were bowled out for 149 runs in 29.5 overs.In reply,the West Zone struggled against North Zone bowlers. Sumit Phogat did the early damage,claiming two top-order batsmen. Other bowlers kept piling on the pressure on the West Zone batsmen. Opener Sanket was the only batsman to show some resistance with his innings of 24 runs off 49 deliveries. West Zone was bundled out for 107 runs in 28.4 overs.
