Central Zone skittled out for 154
Central Zone were were skittled out for only 154 on the first day at Gurgaon, with Joginder Sharma and Amit Bhandari picking up three wickets each
Wisden Cricinfo staff
23-Feb-2004
Gagan Khoda, the Central Zone captain, must have regretted his decision to bat first as his team were skittled out for only 154 on the first day at Gurgaon. Khoda's 46 saved his team further embarrassment that Central looked to be heading for when they were 64 for 5. Vineet Saxena (26) and Naman Ojha (25) prevent a complete disaster with their 43-run stand. Joginder Sharma, the medium pacer from Haryana, took 3 for 16 from his 14 overs and picked up the important wickets of Khoda (46) and Jai Prakash Yadav (3). Amit Bhandari, the medium pacer from Delhi, also picked up three wickets. North ended the day at 35 for 1, with Gautam Gambhir being the only casualty. He was bowled by Yadav after taking more than an hour to reach 4. Aakash Chopra and Yuvraj Singh were at the crease when stumps were drawn.