Ashish thapa

BCCI COE Ground: A fantastic 203 by the in-form Danish Malewar, followed by a dramatic batting collapse by North East Zone, has put Central Zone firmly in command at stumps on day two of their Duleep Trophy clash at the BCCI COE Ground 2 here on Friday.

Malewar’s knock ensured Central Zone declared with 532/4 in 102 overs. North-East Zone were well placed at 128/2 before they lost five wickets for eight runs in a middle-order collapse and ended Day Two at 168/7 in 65 overs. With the North-East Zone still trailing by 364 runs, it will be an uphill task for them to stop Central Zone from winning the match.

In the morning, Malewar struck a boundary in the first over of Day Two to go past 200 for the first time in his first-class career. He then retired on 203, which meant Shubham Sharma arrived at the crease. Yash Rathod rode his luck against a hapless bowling attack to bring up his seventh first-class fifty, and once Sharma fell for 34, Central Zone promptly declared at 532/4, with the former left unbeaten on 87.