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Jagadeesan Shines As South and Central Zones Reach Duleep Trophy Final After Stalemates

Soumyajit Dutta

Narayan Jagadeesan [Source: @spinach_mamu/X.com]Narayan Jagadeesan [Source: @spinach_mamu/X.com]

South Zone and Central Zone booked their spots in the Duleep Trophy 2025 final after playing out hard-fought draws against North Zone and West Zone, respectively. Both teams advanced on the basis of their first-innings leads, setting up a much-anticipated clash for the title.

South Zone vs North Zone – 1st Semi-Final

South Zone’s batting depth shone through in the match, with Narayan Jagadeesan’s marathon 197 steering the side to a commanding 536 in their first innings. He found support from Devdutt Padikkal (57), Ricky Bhui (54), and Tanay Thyagarajan (58), as South posted a massive total despite Nishant Sindhu’s five-wicket haul for North.

In reply, North Zone relied on opener Shubham Khajuria, who struck a superb 128, and Nishant Sindhu, who contributed a fluent 82. However, the rest of the batting faltered, and they were restricted to 361, with Gurjapneet Singh and MD Nidheesh picking three wickets each.

Following on, South Zone extended their control with N Jagadeesan once again steadying the chase at 52 not out in a second-innings score of 95/1. The match ended in a draw, but South comfortably progressed to the final thanks to their dominant first-innings lead.

Central Zone vs West Zone – 2nd Semi-Final

In the second semi-final at Bengaluru, Central Zone produced a batting masterclass, piling up 600 runs in their first innings. Rajat Patidar’s fluent 77, Shubham Sharma’s resilient 96, Upendra Yadav’s composed 87, and Harsh Dubey’s quickfire 75 highlighted their effort.

West Zone’s reply was anchored by Ruturaj Gaikwad’s majestic 184 and crucial knocks from Tanush Kotian (76) and Shardul Thakur (64), taking them to 438. Harsh Dubey and Saransh Jain shared three wickets each for Central.

Forced to chase the game, West Zone struggled in their second innings as Jain’s five-for dented their batting. Despite Yashasvi Jaiswal’s attacking 64, they ended on 216/8, leaving the contest drawn. Central Zone’s first-innings advantage ensured their place in the final.

With both semi-finals ending in stalemates, South Zone and Central Zone will now face off in the final of the Duleep Trophy 2025, promising a thrilling conclusion to the competition.