Duleep Trophy | 'We will chase this target easily...': West Zone's Musheer Khan

Musheer Khan. Pic/Atul Kamble

[popcorn number="111" desc="No. of runs put on by Musheer Khan and Ruturaj Gaikwad for the fourth wicket" class="Default"]

Till one-drop Musheer Khan (96, 8x4, 2x6) and No. 5 Ruturaj Gaikwad (66, 7x4) were at the crease, West Zone looked comfortable during their 287-run second-innings chase against North Zone in the Duleep Trophy quarter-final at Bengaluru on Tuesday. However, Musheer's dismissal, followed by two more quick wickets has left West Zone on 220-7 at the end of Day Three, needing another 67 runs for victory on the final day.

However, Musheer, who missed his fifth first-class century by just four runs, is confident that No. 6 Urvil Patel (17 not out) and the remaining batters - Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande - will get the job done.

"I have a lot of faith in Urvil; he's a gutsy player. I have a lot of confidence in Tanush, Shardul bhai and Tushar bhai as well. I trust them. I'm sure even if one of them clicks tomorrow [Wednesday], we will chase this target easily," Musheer told mid-day over the phone from Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Musheer, who has scored four centuries in 17 first-class matches, felt he should have finished the job himself though. "I was enjoying my innings without keeping any milestone in mind. I just thought that if I can help my team win this one, we would've gained a lot of confidence for the upcoming season. If we win, this will be among my best innings so far," Musheer added.