Rajat Patidar, renowned for his batting prowess, is now making a significant impact as a captain in domestic cricket. His leadership skills are on full display as he guides Central Zone to the Duleep Trophy final. The team will compete against South Zone for the championship title.
The Duleep Trophy semi-finals, the opening matches of the Indian domestic cricket season, concluded in draws. Central Zone and North Zone earned their spots in the semi-finals based on their first-innings leads from the quarter-final games in Bengaluru. In the semi-final, Central Zone faced West Zone, who were the defending champions from the previous season. West Zone, however, was without their former captain, Ajinkya Rahane. Shardul Thakur assumed the captaincy, with notable players such as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer also in the team.
Even with West Zone’s strong lineup, Central Zone dominated with their strong batting and bowling performances. They held West Zone to 438 runs in the first innings. Central Zone, under Patidar’s leadership, then scored 600 runs in their first innings. While no batsman scored a century, six players scored half-centuries, with five exceeding 75 runs. Captain Patidar contributed 77 runs, and Shubham Sharma led the team with 96 runs.
This performance secured Central Zone’s place in the final, giving them a 162-run advantage in the first innings. West Zone’s batsmen struggled in the second innings, managing only 216 runs while losing 8 wickets before the match ended in a draw. Off-spinner Saransh Jain was a key player for Central, taking 3 wickets in the first innings and 5 in the second, along with an unbeaten score of 63.
In the other semi-final, South Zone triumphed over North Zone to secure a place in the final. This match also concluded in a draw on the final day. South Zone entered the final with a substantial 175-run lead from the first innings. Narayan Jagadeesan, the opening batsman, played a crucial role for South, scoring 197 runs in the first innings, helping South to reach 536 runs. Gurjapneet Singh and Mohammed Nidhish’s fast bowling then restricted North to 361 runs. South scored 95 runs for the loss of 1 wicket in the second innings when the match ended, with Jagadeesan scoring another half-century.
