The semi-finals of India's premier domestic red-ball tournament - the Duleep Trophy are underway at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The two semi-finals are being played between the South Zone and North Zone, and the West Zone and Central Zone.
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The South and West Zone teams secured direct qualification into the semifinals ahead of the tournament.
In contrast, the North and Central Zone teams advanced to this stage following their dominant performances in the quarterfinals, where they drew their games with a first-innings lead to secure a spot ahead.
The Duleep Trophy 2025 semi-finals commence at the BCCI's CoE
As the semi-finals got underway, several big Indian players from sides are missing out due to injuries or international commitments, while a few big names have joined in as well.
Ahead of the game, South Zone's star batter Tilak Varma was ruled out as he had to travel for the Asia Cup, while Sai Kishore missed out due to a finger injury. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit also miss the game for the North Zone, as they are off to the UAE for the Asia Cup.
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The West Zone, on the other hand, has seen a return of a few of the big names, including Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shreyas Iyer. The Shardul Thakur-led side promises to be one of the strongest sides with a lot of experience.
Brief Scores: Day 2
West Zone vs Central Zone
West Zone - 438 (108 overs), Ruturaj Gaikwad - 184, Tanush Kotian - 76, Aarya Desai - 39, Shreyas Iyer - 25, Khaleel Ahmed - 2/82
Central Zone - 131/1 (41 overs), Aayush Pandey 40, Danish Malewar 66*
South Zone vs North Zone
South Zone - 490/7 (147 overs), Tanmay Agarwal - 43, N Jagadeesan - 197, Devdutt Padikkal - 57, Nishant Sidhu - 3/98, Anshul Kamboj - 2/67.
(Last updated at 4 p.m. IST)
Narayan Jagadeesan misses on double hundred, Shardul Thakur scores fifty
South Zone opener Narayan Jagadeesan came agonisingly close to a double century in the Duleep Trophy semi-final against North Zone. The Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper batter was run out for 197 after a marathon knock that lasted 352 balls - hitting 16 fours and two sixes.
It was a bitter end for Jagadeesan, who had built his innings patiently and looked set for the milestone before the unfortunate dismissal. This was the second time in as many days that a batsman missed a double hundred in the tournament after Ruturaj Gaikwad's 184 for West Zone in the other semi-final.
Meanwhile, in that same West Zone vs Central Zone match, skipper Shardul Thakur made a fighting half-century from No. 8. He reached his fifty with back-to-back boundaries but was eventually run out for 64 - adding crucial lower-order runs for his side.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer lose wickets to Khaleel Ahmed
One of India's most promising and consistent red-ball opening batters, Yashasvi Jaiswal, has seen a disappointing return to domestic cricket. Being put into bat early on Day 1, the West Zone opener was dismissed by Khaleel Ahmed in the very first over, after scoring just 4 runs.
All eyes were also on Shreyas Iyer's return in the red-ball format after being excluded from India's squad for the England tour and the Asia Cup. Iyer, however, failed to make it big as he was cleaned up by Khaleel Ahmed at a score of 25.
Ruturaj Gaikwad shines with eighth first-class century
Ruturaj Gaikwad, batting in the middle-order for the West Zone, started the domestic season with a stunning century off 131 balls. This follows his century in Tamil Nadu's Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament last month.
Meanwhile, the South Zone has gotten off to a terrific start at the end of the first session. Being put into the bat, their openers Tanmay Agarwal and N Jagadeesan ensured that they batted out the difficult conditions early on in the day.
N Jagadeesan smashed a terrific century in 184 balls and he went on to score 197 runs, barely missing the double hundred, while Devdutt Padikkal scored a half-century in just 64 balls.
Patidar's fifty marches Central Zone towards first-innings lead
Following a blistering 125(96) in the first match, Central Zone skipper Rajat Patidar scores another crucial 77(84) to take them closer to West Zone's 438 run total.
Replacing Aryan Juyal as an opener, Danish Malewar also backed up his double-century on Duleep Trophy debut with an important 76(136), while another centurion from the first game, Shubham Sharma, approaches his second consecutive hundred.
In the other game, South Zone finishes their first innings with a total of 536 on the board after Tanay Thygarajan (58 off 116) and resolute Gurjapaneet Singh (29 off 81) take forward the good work of N Jagadeesan (197 off 352) and co.
Nishant Sidhu finished the innings with 5/125 at an economy rate of just 2.64, and Anshul Kamboj finished with 2/67.
Gurjapaneet gets early wickets for the South Zone and scalps the dangerous Yash Dhull cheaply.
Brief Scores: Day 3
West Zone vs Central Zone
West Zone - 438 (108 overs), Ruturaj Gaikwad - 184, Tanush Kotian - 76, Aarya Desai - 39, Shreyas Iyer - 25, Harsh Dubey 3/118, Saransh Jain 3/121.
Central Zone - 544/7 (154 overs), Shubham Sharma - 96, Upendra Yadav 87, Rajat Patidar - 77, Danish Malewar 76, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja - 4/101 (41)
South Zone vs North Zone
South Zone - 536 (169.2 overs), N Jagadeesan - 197, Tanay Thygarajan - 58, Devdutt Padikkal - 57, Ricky Bhui - 54, Nishant Sidhu - 5/125.
North Zone - 278/5, Shubham Khajuria - 128*, Nishant Sindhu 82, Ayush Badoni 40, Gurjapneet - 3/67.
(Last updated at 5:30 p.m. IST)
Yashasvi Jaiswal scores a fifty
West Zone opener Yashasvi Jaiswal came back strong after a disappointing first innings. The left-handed opener ended with a score of 64.
Brief Scores: Day 4
West Zone vs Central Zone
West Zone - 438 & 216/8 (43 overs), Yashasvi Jaiswal - 64, Tanush - 40, Saransh Jain 5/84
Central Zone - 600, Shubham Sharma - 96, Upendra Yadav - 87, D A Jadeja - 4/130, A Nagwaswalla - 3/57
Match Drawn
North Zone vs South Zone
South Zone - 536 & 95/1, N Jagadeesan 52, Auqib Nabi - 1/23
North Zone - 361, Shubham 128, Nishant - 82, Gurjapneet - 4/96
Match Drawn
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