South Zone and Central Zone will meet in the Duleep Trophy final after both teams advanced from their respective semifinals. The final, set to begin on Thursday, September 11, will be held at the BCCI CoE Ground. Both semifinals ended with the winning team securing a first-innings lead.
In the semifinal between South Zone and North Zone, South secured their spot by bowling out North on the final day. North Zone began the day needing 259 runs to chase down South's first-innings total of 536. Their chances of a comeback were immediately hurt when key batter Shubham Khajuria was bowled by V. Koushik on the second ball. Despite some late resistance, North Zone was dismissed for 361, leaving them 175 runs short. South Zone's bowlers, including M.D. Nidheesh and Gurjapneet Singh, delivered a clinical performance to ensure a victory.
The other semifinal, between Central Zone and West Zone, ended in a draw, with Central Zone advancing due to their first-innings lead of 162 runs. Central Zone had posted a formidable total of 600 in their first innings. In West Zone's second innings, Yashasvi Jaiswal played a quick-fire innings of 64 runs, but it was not enough to change the outcome of the match. West Zone captain Shardul Thakur expressed disappointment with the pitches. "There was not much for fast bowlers," he stated, adding that he expects "more pitches where the game is even for fast bowlers, batters and spinners."
The final will be a showdown between two in-form teams. N. Jagadeesan, who scored 197 in the first innings for South Zone and an unbeaten 52 in the second, will be a key player to watch. Central Zone's batting was highlighted by a double-century from Danish Melewar, as well as centuries from Rajat Patidar and Shubham Sharma. The final promises to be a competitive clash between two well-rounded teams.
However, both teams will be without several key players for the final, as they have been called up to join the India A squad for two red-ball matches against Australia A. This includes N. Jagadeesan, Devdutt Padikkal, Harsh Dubey, Yash Thakur, and Khaleel Ahmed, which will impact the team compositions for the final showdown.
