East in command as North falter in senior women's inter zonal multi-day trophy semis

North, who were going strong at 99 for 3 on Wednesday, suffered a mighty collapse losing their remaining seven wickets for just 45 runs.Shafali Verma was the highest run-getter for North, scoring 58 off 88 balls.In the other semifinal, South Zone took a crucial 59-run first-innings lead against West Zone, dismissing their rivals for 230.

East Zone turned the tables on North Zone on the second day of senior women's inter zonal multi-day semifinal, taking a huge 270-run lead, thanks to an all-out effort from their batters here on Thursday.

North, who managed a slender 12-run first-innings lead after being dismissed for 144 in the morning session in reply to East's 132, were in dire straits after their opponents played with a lot of determination to end the day at 282 for nine in 80 overs -- an overall lead of 270 -- at the Pune Cricket Club Ground.

Uma Chetry (37) and skipper Deepti (39) gave East a solid 77-run start. Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh (31) and Dhara Gujjar (58), RR Saha (45) and Saika Ishaque (37) then built on the opening-wicket stand to take East to an imposing total, which could prove decisive as the match progresses.

Following their first-innings collapse, East Zone batters played with caution, taking time to settle down and punish only the wayward deliveries.

Dhara, the only half-centurion for East, consumed 131 balls for her 58, while Chetry played 73 deliveries for her 37.

Earlier, Mamta Paswan (5/53) and Deepti (4/14) restricted North to just 144 runs in the morning session. North, who were going strong at 99 for 3 on Wednesday, suffered a mighty collapse losing their remaining seven wickets for just 45 runs.

Shafali Verma was the highest run-getter for North, scoring 58 off 88 balls.

In the other semifinal, South Zone took a crucial 59-run first-innings lead against West Zone, dismissing their rivals for 230. South had made 289 in the first essay.

South were 58 for 2 in the second innings, an overall lead of 117 runs.

India wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia was going strong before the West Zone top-order batter was dismissed for 67, dealing a huge blow to the side.

The other West zone batters who made decent contributions were DP Vaidya (41), skipper Smriti Mandhana (30) and Radha Yadav (39 not out).

At stumps, South's opener M Durga (29 not out) and Tamanna Nigam (10 not out) were at the crease.

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