DULEEP TROPHY 2025
Ruturaj smashed 25 fours and a six in his massive hundred. © AFP
South Zone vs North Zone
After being asked to bat first, South Zone made steady progress on Day 1 led by Narayan Jagadeesan’s (148*) century. North Zone, who made two changes to their bowling line-up by bringing in Yudhvir Singh Charak and Anshul Kamboj in place of Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, struggled for discipline and conceded as many as 22 extras including 13 no-balls.
The South Zone openers batted solidly and took their side to 79/0 by Lunch. The duo went on to share a 103-run stand before Tanmay Agarwal (43) was bowled by Nishant Sindhu. That, however, spelled little respite for North Zone as it was followed by a 123-run stand between Devdutt Padikkal (57) and Jagadeesan. Although North Zone managed to dismiss Padikkal by Tea, Jagadeesan had moved on and notched up three-figures. Mohit Kale was the only other batter to be dismissed on the first day as bad light brought play to an end after only 81 overs were bowled.
Brief Scores: South Zone 297/3 (Narayan Jagadeeasan 148* , Devdutt Padikkal 57; Nishant Sindhu 2-59, Anshul Kamboj 1-47) vs North Zone
West Zone vs Central Zone
West Zone were led by a cracking 184 from Ruturaj Gaikwad on Day 1 of their semi-final against Central Zone as they amassed 363/6 by Stumps. Gaikwad’s runs came at an impressive strike-rate of 89.32 and was laced with 25 fours and a six.
Opting to bat first, West Zone found themselves in trouble early. Yashasvi Jaiswal (4) failed to impress and was the first to depart after being trapped lbw by Khaleel Ahmed off the third delivery of the game. Deepak Chahar then dismissed Harvik Desai (1) in the fourth over to leave West Zone reeling at 10/2.
Aarya Desai and Ruturaj Gaikwad stepped up and steered their side back on course with an 82-run stand but the former was prized out by Harsh Dubey, becoming the third casualty of the first session and leaving West Zone on 116/3 at Lunch.
Shreyas Iyer (25) and Shams Mulani (18) both couldn’t convert their starts and although they shared valuable 42 and 45-run stands respectively with Gaikwad, West Zone were in a spot of bother at 179/5.
The complexion of the game then changed when Tanush Kotian (65*) joined Gaikwad at the crease. The duo shared a massive 148-run stand to put their side in a position of strength before Gaikwad was finally out stumped to Saransh Jain in the third session. Kotian and skipper Shardul Thakur (24*) added 36 more runs before the close of play to take their side past 350.
Brief Scores: West Zone 363/6 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 184, Tanush Kotian 65*; Khaleel Ahmed 2-70, Saransh Jain 2-109) vs Central Zone
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