In the end, even Central Zone might have been surprised by the swiftness of their victory. West Zone were expected to offer stiff resistance, but a set of spot-on bowlers and a lively pitch thwarted those calculatons as the defending champions surrendered meekly in the Deodhar Trophy one-day match at the Chinnaswamy stadium here on Friday.

Led by paceman Praveen Kumar and leggie Piyush Chawla, Central bundled out West for a paltry 98, a result of their batsmen’s inability to apply themselves. Central overhauled the target with plenty to spare, at the expense of four wickets.

Central skipper Mohammad Kaif read the pitch to perfection and did not have to think twice before putting the opposition in. The first over bowled by Praveen portended to a tough time for the West batsmen. Praveen put Yousuf Pathan through the wringer with a combination of inswingers and outswingers, but Wasim Jaffer struck two elegant boundaries through covers to brighten the mood in the West camp.

However, that did not last long as Praveen induced an edge from Jaffer for Kaif to complete a low catch at first slip. Pathan’s uncertain stay in the middle was soon ended by Rudra Pratap Singh when the Uttar Pradesh bowler trapped him leg before. Rudra Pratap started a bit gingerly, but soon regained his rhythm and did not show any signs of the hamstring tear that he had suffered in Australia during the Test series.

West might have hoped for a better score than their eventual total with some top names still to come in the line-up. Rohit Sharma, impressive during the recent tri-series, appeared to settle down in fellow-Mumbaikar Ajinkya Rahane’s company.

Praveen, who exploited the helpful nature of the pitch to the hilt, struck precisely at this juncture, removing Rahane in the 10th over and Parthiv Patel an over later. Sandeep Singh soon showed exit signals to Rohit as West slumped to 39 for five in no time. From that point, only one team could have been the winner.

With Y Venugopala Rao and Abhishek Nayar still at the crease, West might still have envisaged a rearguard action, but Chawla and Murali Kartik had other ideas. Chawla struck twice in his first over. Venugopala failed to read a googly and the ball rearranged the woodwork. Three balls later, Chawla forced Iqbal Abdulla to snick a straighter one to Naman Ojha behind the stumps.

With Kartik too getting into the act, the West innings came to a close soon.

The total was never to going to test Central, but the West bowlers, led by Ajit Agarkar and Siddharth Trivedi, tried gamely. The pitch continued to offer them bounce and carry. Openers Faiz Fazal and Ojha added 41 to lay a sound foundation. Though they lost three quick wickets towards the end, Central cruised to victory and five points, including a bonus point. West, on the other hand, were docked a point for conceding the bonus point.

SCORE BOARD

WEST ZONE: Yousuf Pathan lbw RP Singh 3 (13b), Wasim Jaffer c Kaif b Praveen 8 (7b, 2x4), Ajinkya Rahane c Chawla b Praveen 10 (20b, 2x4), Rohit Sharma c Ojha b Sandeep 7 (23b, 1x4), Parthiv Patel c Rohit b Praveen 0 (2b), Y Venugopala Rao b Chawla 9 (31b, 1x4), Abhishek Nayar c Praveen b Chawla 39 (53b, 4x4, 1x6), Iqbal Abdulla c Ojha b Chawla 2 (2b), Ajit Agarkar lbw Kartik 0 (8b), Munaf Patel c RP Singh b Kartik 1 (5b), Siddharth Trivedi (not out) 6 (9b, 1x4). Extras (LB-6, W-6, NB-1) 13. Total (all out, 29.1 overs) 98.

Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Jaffer), 2-15 (Pathan), 3-39 (Rahane), 4-39 (Rohit), 5-39 (P Patel), 6-70 (Venugopala), 7-72 (Abdulla), 8-73 (Agarkar), 9-81 (M Patel).

Bowling: Praveen Kumar 7-1-18-3 (w-3), RP Singh 8-0-22-1 (w-1, nb-1), Sandeep Singh 7-2-21-1 (w-2), Murali Kartik 4-0-20-2, Piyush Chawla 3.1-0-11-3.

Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 15/1, 10: 39/3, 15: 45/5, 20: 62/5, 25: 73/8, end of innings: 98 all out in 29.1 overs.

Runs during: Power Play 1: 1-10 overs: 39/3, Power Play 2 (three men out): 11-15 overs: 6/2, Power Play 3: 16-20 overs: 17/0.

CENTRAL ZONE: Faiz Fazal c Jaffer b Trivedi 24 (30b, 4x4), Naman Ojha c Munaf b Agarkar 25 (38b, 3x4), Suresh Raina c Agarkar b Trivedi 18 (24b, 2x4), Himalaya Sagar (not out) 7 (12b, 1x4); Mohammad Kaif c Jaffer b Agarkar 8 (10b, 1x4), Rohit Sharma (not out) 2 (7b). Extras (LB-2, W-13) 15; Total (for 4 wkts, 20.1 overs) 99.
Fall of Wickets: 1-41 (Fazal), 2-75 (Ojha), 3-81 (Raina), 4-94 (Kaif).

Bowling: Munaf Patel 5-0-21-0 (w-6), Ajit Agarkar 7.1-0-35-2 (w-4), Siddharth Trivedi 8-0-41-2 (w-3).

Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 20/0, 10: 50/1, 15: 81/2, 20: 98/4; end of innings: 99/4 in 20.1 overs.

Runs during: Power Play 1: 1-10 overs: 50/1, Power Play 2: 11-15 overs: 31/1, Power Play 3 (three men out): 16-20 overs: 17/2.