Bengaluru’s cricket fans got a treat on Thursday as spinners Saransh Jain and Kumar Kartikeya stole the show on day one of the 2025/26 Duleep Trophy final at the BCCI CoE Ground. The duo’s brilliant spin bowling masterclass helped Central Zone dominate South Zone right from the start.
The pitch had plenty of grip and bounce, perfect for spinners. Jain grabbed his second five-wicket haul in a row with stunning figures of 5-49, while Kartikeya chipped in with 4-53. Together, they bowled out South Zone for just 149 runs in 63 overs. What a collapse!
Central Zone captain Rajat Patidar wisely chose to bowl first. South Zone’s openers Mohit Kale and Tanmay Agarwal started slow, putting up 24 runs in 15 overs. But things fell apart once Kartikeya came on in the 16th over. He quickly dismissed Kale and Smaran Ravichandran, sparking a dramatic slide.
Tanmay Agarwal looked solid on 31, but a mix-up with Ricky Bhui led to a run-out. Kartikeya then bowled captain Mohammed Azharuddeen, leaving South Zone in deep trouble at 64/4 by lunch. After the break, Jain took charge, trapping Bhui lbw and then removing C Andre Siddarth and Salman Nizar in no time. Kartikeya added his fourth by getting Gurjapneet Singh lbw, and Jain sealed the innings by bowling Ankit Sharma.
In their reply, Central Zone openers Danish Malewar and Akshay Wadkar handled the new ball like pros. They reached 50 without losing a wicket in 19 overs before bad light stopped play. South Zone still leads by 99 runs, but Central Zone looks strong.
South Zone fought back with Ankit’s spin and Gurjapneet’s left-arm pace, but Malewar smashed three boundaries in one over off the pacer. Ankit had a loud lbw shout against Wadkar turned down—replays showed it was missing leg stump. Vasuki Koushik got some swing late on, but the openers stood firm, putting Central Zone in a great spot.
Brief Scores: South Zone 149 all out in 63 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 31, Salman Nizar 24; Saransh Jain 5-49, Kumar Kartikeya 4-53) lead Central Zone 50/0 in 19 overs (Danish Malewar 28, Akshay Wadkar 20) by 99 runs.
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