Abid Mushtaq (BCCI Photo)
On a red-soil pitch he described as his “favourite”, Abid claimed a five-wicket haul to bowl West out for 187 in 65.4 overs. BENGALURU: Some spinners rely on guile and variety, others on subtle change of pace. Abid Mushtaq prefers a simpler route to success— hit the right areas, make batters play and wait for them to commit mistakes.
The Jammu and Kashmir leftarm spinner was at his methodical best against West Zone on Day Two of the Duleep Trophy at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here on Monday.
North Zone, who secured a 64-run first-innings lead, were 107/4 at stumps, stretching their advantage to 171 runs. Resuming on 100, the left-hander went on to make 167 as East amassed 467 in 112.5 overs. His innings built on the foundation laid by Sudip Gharami’s 146 on the opening day. Shahbaz then took 3/20 as North East were bowled out for 111, with Abhijit Sarkar returning 5/20. Join conversation Share your thoughts in the comments Be respectful · TOI community guidelines Forced to follow on, North East reached 7/0 from the only over possible before stumps. Brief scores: North Zone 251 & 107/4 in 21 overs (Ayush Badoni 39*, Abdul Samad 30; Shams Mulani 2/34, Tanush Kotian 2/22) vs West Zone 187 in 65.4 overs (Shams Mulani 52, Musheer Khan 31; Abid Mushtaq 5/39, Arshdeep Singh 3/53, Anshul Kamboj 2/38). East Zone 467 in 112.5 overs (Shahbaz Ahmed 167, Sudip Gharami 146, Kumar Kushagra 55, Anukul Roy 37; Jotin Pheiroijam 3/64, Akash Choudhary 3/102, Bishworjit Konthoujam 2/92) vs North East Zone 111 in 42.5 overs (Arpit Bhatewara 32; Abhijit Sarkar 5/20, Shahbaz Ahmed 3/20) & 7/0 in 1 over.
Abid admitted he got “goosebumps” when he saw the red soil, a surface he has only started training on regularly over the last 3-4 three years in J&K. He made the most of the familiarity, producing a spell built on accuracy rather than elaborate variations. Poll What is the key factor for Abid Mushtaq’s success as a bowler? Download the TOI app.
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The 29-year-old, who was also invited to bowl in the Australian team’s nets ahead of the 2023 BorderGavaskar Trophy in India, kept attacking the stumps and forcing batters to play. Gaikwad and Urvil fell within three balls of each other, leaving West reeling at 70/5 in the 28th over. His figures of 11-5-13-3 in the first session summed up his approach. Abid, who has taken 63 wickets in his last three Ranji Trophy seasons, kept varying his angle, bowling from both sides of the wicket without compromising on his discipline. Musheer Khan (31), who showed considerable patience against him, and Shams Mulani (52) briefly stemmed the collapse with a 63-run sixth-wicket partnership. But Abid returned to dismiss Tushar Deshpande (18), completing his five-for. Anshul Kamboj (2/38) and Arshdeep Singh (3/53) also contributed with the ball as North Zone tightened their grip on the quarterfinal.
When it comes to bowling in red soil, I’m confident,” Abid said. Three of his five wickets — Shivalik Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Urvil Patel — came via LBWs. “I bowled at the stumps as there was a lot of help on the wicket. I always try to land in good areas and not give away runs. I also use the crease. At the adjacent ground, Shahbaz Ahmed produced an allround performance to put East Zone firmly in control against North East Zone.
He gave the batters little to work with and had already castled Prithvi Shaw on Sunday evening.