Central Zone inches closer to Duleep Trophy final

Bengaluru, Sep 6: Half-centuries from Shubham Sharma (96), Upendra Yadav (87), Rajat Patidar (77), and Harsh Dubey (75) powered Central Zone to inch closer to the 2025/26 Duleep Trophy final after reaching 556/8 in 157 overs at stumps on day three of their semifinal against West Zone.

At the close of day three’s play at the BCCI CoE Ground 2, Central Zone have secured a first-innings lead of 118 runs, which means they can enter the final on this basis even if the game ends in a draw. Saransh Jain is unbeaten on 37, with Yash Thakur giving him company on four not out.

West Zone tried every option in search of breakthroughs and even handed the ball to skipper Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal, but the Central Zone batters marched on relentlessly. Though three wickets fell in the first session, Dubey and Yadav blunted the bowling attack with a crucial 134-run stand off 197 balls for the sixth wicket that firmly pushed their side into the lead.

Although none of the batters reached the three-figure mark, Central Zone will be satisfied with their collective effort. For the West Zone, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja returned figures of 4-101 but found little support from the rest of the bowling attack.

Patidar resumed positively in the morning, reaching his fifty off 62 balls before falling to Jadeja to end his 127-run stand with Shubham. The left-arm spinner later removed Yash Rathod for just two, with Ruturaj Gaikwad taking a stunning catch.

Shubham looked solid to get a century but fell four runs short of it after a mix-up with Yadav. Central Zone, however, continued to build through a counterattacking stand between Upendra and Dubey, who steered Central Zone into the lead.

While Yadav reached his fifty in 84 balls, Dubey brought up his half-century off 62 balls before Shams Mulani and Jadeja took them out. Brief interruptions due to rain could not halt the Central Zone’s momentum, with even Deepak Chahar chipping in late with attacking strokes to hit 33 off 52 balls. But with a healthy first-innings lead secured, Central Zone now has one foot firmly in the final.

Brief scores:

West Zone 438 all out in 108 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 184; Harsh Dubey 3-118) trail Central Zone 556/8 in 157 overs (Shubham Sharma 96, Upendra Yadav 87; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 4-93, Arzan Nagwaswalla 1-53) by 118 runs.