Central Zone Clinch Duleep Trophy After Nail-Biting Final Against South Zone; Patidar Leads Victory

Rajat Patidar’s Central Zone survived some nervy moments to beat South Zone by six wickets in the final of the Duleep Trophy. Playing at the Indian Cricket Board’s (BCCI) Centre of Excellence, Central Zone chased down 65 runs on the final day of the competition to lift the trophy after an 11-year hiatus.

Chasing a modest target of 65, Central Zone’s top-order batters probably took it lightly. Disaster struck when South Zone bowlers Gurjapneet Singh and Ankit Kumar ripped through the top order to reduce the team to 24/3. On a crumbling fifth-day track, the bowlers fought hard until the 20th over to defend the 65 runs but simply did not have enough runs on the board.

Akshay Wadkar (19* off 52 balls) and first-innings centurion Yash Rathod (13* off 16 balls) were at the crease when Central eventually passed the target at 66/4 in 20.3 overs to claim their seventh Duleep Trophy title.

However, South Zone will take a lot of pride from the fight they showed in the second innings (426) and with the ball in the final innings, delaying Central’s march to victory.

Duleep Trophy Final: Day 5 Highlights

Left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma accounted for Danish Malewar (5) with a delivery that spun sharply and took the edge of the Central opener’s bat en route to wicketkeeper Mohammed Azharuddeen. He later added the wicket of Central captain Rajat Patidar, who played a hurried slog sweep to get caught at mid-on by MD Nidheesh.

Pacer Gurjapneet Singh, who earned an India A call-up on Sunday, picked up the scalps of Shubham Sharma and the promoted Saransh Jain, who was later adjudged player of the series, creating some anxious moments for the Central camp.

But player of the match Rathod and Wadkar steered Central home without further damage.

For Patidar, it was his second title this year after guiding Royal Challengers Bengaluru to victory in the IPL, and he was understandably delighted.

“Every captain likes winning trophies. But our players showed a lot of character across the tournament and I am very happy about it.

“Here, the wicket was slightly dry so we decided to bat first. I am pleased for Danish and Yash; they batted well here all tournament,” Patidar said during the post-match presentation ceremony.

South skipper Azharuddeen said reaching the final of the Duleep Trophy will serve as motivation for them in a long domestic season, which now enters the Ranji Trophy phase from October 15.

“We will get better from this experience, a long season ahead. Central spinners were hitting the right areas and we made a few bad decisions as a batting unit as well. But we fought well in the second innings, and I am happy that we did not give up easily,” he said.

With that, the domestic season comes to a close for the moment. The Irani Cup is the next tournament for the senior men’s players, beginning October 1. The Irani Cup will act as a build-up to the Ranji Trophy, which starts on October 15.