(source : ANI) ( Photo Credit : ani)
Central Zone Wins Duleep Trophy After 11 Years with Thrilling Chase
Bengaluru, September 15: In a nail-biting finish at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Central Zone clinched their first Duleep Trophy title in nearly 11 years. Yash Rathod smashed a career-best 194 earlier in the match, Saransh Jain shone with all-round skills, and Rajat Patidar fired a quickfire hundred to power the team to victory. Chasing just 65 runs on the final morning, Central Zone overcame some early jitters to beat South Zone by six wickets, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
The pitch in Bengaluru helped bowlers all game. Left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma gripped the surface for turn and bounce, grabbing two wickets. Pacer Gurjapneet Singh troubled batsmen with seam movement, also picking up two scalps to keep South Zone in the hunt.
Central Zone’s chase kicked off on a shaky note. Opener Danish Malewar got off the mark with a clip for two runs but edged a sharp-turning delivery from Ankit to the keeper. Shubham Sharma survived some streaky shots against Gurjapneet, hitting two boundaries, but soon edged one to wicketkeeper Mohammed Azharuddeen.
Saransh Jain, promoted to No. 4, smashed his first ball over point for four. But disaster struck right after—he inside-edged onto his pad, and short leg took an easy catch.
Enter Rajat Patidar and Akshay Wadkar, who turned the game around with bold counter-attacks. They refused to play defensively. Wadkar drove Ankit through midwicket and smashed Gurjapneet square of the wicket. Patidar survived a close stumping chance but soon hit his stride, lofting two classy on-the-up drives past mid-off off Ankit. With only 16 runs left, Patidar tried a sweep but miscued it, getting caught at mid-on.
That brought Wadkar and Yash Rathod together. They stayed calm and chipped away at the target. Wadkar kept things steady, and Rathod sealed the Duleep Trophy win with a punch through the covers off V Koushik. Central Zone wrapped up the chase in just 20.3 overs.
This marks Central Zone’s seventh Duleep Trophy title overall (including one shared win) and their first since the 2014-15 season, when they also beat South Zone in the final. What a way to end the tournament—cricket fans are buzzing about Rathod’s epic knock and Patidar’s flair!
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
