The picture of the Duleep Trophy semi-finals has become clearer after a riveting third day’s play. While Central Zone’s relentless batting effort left heavyweights West Zone staring at the exit door, South Zone’s pace spearhead Gurjapneet Singh ensured his side stayed firmly in command against North Zone. Both games now look set for decisive finishes on the final day on Sunday.
Central Zone pile misery on West Zone
At BCCI CoE Ground 2, West Zone’s star-studded lineup, boasting names like Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, finds itself in deep trouble. After Gaikwad’s sublime 184 lifted West to 438 in the first innings, their bowlers were made to toil for the better part of two days. Central Zone rode on collective batting efforts to post 556 for 8, taking a vital 118-run first-innings lead that has all but knocked West out of the competition.
Shubham Sharma’s patient 96 set the tone before Rajat Patidar (77) kept the scoreboard ticking. Upendra Yadav (87) and Harsh Dubey (75) then combined for a match-defining sixth-wicket stand of 134, ensuring West never clawed back. Even a four-wicket haul from Dharmendrasinh Jadeja could not prevent Central from surging ahead. With Saransh Jain unbeaten on 37 at stumps, Central’s grip on the match is now near unshakable as they have a 100+ lead. Deepak Chahar came with an entertaining cameo of 33 runs as well to extend the lead.
West Zone threw everything into the attack, even handing the ball to Iyer and Jaiswal in desperation, but the breakthroughs never came consistently. For all their firepower, the defending champions are staring at elimination unless they pull off something extraordinary on the final day.
Khajuria, Sindhu revive North Zone but South Zone ahead
At the Ground 1 in Bengaluru, South Zone had taken control on the back of Narayan Jagadeesan’s 197 on Day 2. Resuming with a mammoth 536 on the board, their bowlers were quick to make inroads as Gurjapneet Singh struck twice with the new ball, removing skipper Ankit Kumar and in-form Yash Dhull. When MD Nidheesh added another scalp to dismiss Ayush Badoni, North Zone slipped to 101 for 3, staring at a massive deficit.
That is when Shubham Khajuria and Nishant Sindhu stood tall. The pair added 171 runs for the fourth wicket, blunting South’s pace attack with discipline and temperament. Khajuria’s controlled hundred, his eighth in first-class cricket, was laced with 15 boundaries and a six. Sindhu, fresh from a five-wicket haul on Friday, followed it up with a fluent 82 to underline his all-round class.
But just when North looked settled, Gurjapneet struck again to dismiss Sindhu, before a sharp run-out accounted for K Wadhawan. North ended at 278 for 5, still trailing by 258 runs. Khajuria’s unbeaten 128 remains their biggest hope heading into the final day.
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