Duleep Trophy: CZone set to pip WZone for final berth
What's the story
Central Zone are all but through to the final of the 2025 Duleep Trophy. They have gained the first-innings lead in the ongoing semi-final match against West Zone in Bengaluru. They finished the rain-curtailed Day 3 at 556/8 while responding to WZone's first innings score of 438/10. With a solitary day left in the game, the result is set to be a draw.
Innings
Batters dominated Day 3
CZONE were well placed at 229/2 at the start of the day. Shubham Sharma (96) and captain Rajat Patidar (77) continued the good work and took their team's total past 300. Though a mini collapse made the team go from 287/2 to 322/5, Upendra Yadav and Harsh Dubey rebuilt the innings with a 134-run partnership. Both batters, however, missed out on tons.
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Vital contributions from Saransh Jain, Chahar
Lower-order batters Saransh Jain and Deepak Chahar ensured their side went past 500 by scripting a 51-run partnership for the eighth wicket. While Chahar was dismissed for a 52-ball 33, Saransh returned unbeaten on 37* off 83 balls.
Shubham
Yet another 90-plus score from Shubham
Shubham's 96 came off 241 balls as he slammed 11 fours. Notably, he smashed 122 in the third innings of the quarter-final clash against North East Zone. The Madhya Pradesh batter overall recorded his 24th First-Class fifty (100s: 12). As per ESPNcricinfo, playing his 68th FC match, Shubham has raced to 4,397 runs at an average of 43-plus.
Patidar
Third consecutive score of 50-plus for Patidar
Patidar's 77 saw him consume 84 balls. He smashed 14 fours during his stay. As mentioned above, Patidar has raced past 5,000 First-Class runs (now 5,006) from 70 matches at an average of 43-plus. He now owns 14 tons and 26 half-centuries. This was his third successive 50-plus score as he made 125 and 66 in the quarter-final clash.
Dubey
75 for Harsh Dubey
All-rounder Dubey scored a fine 75 off 93 balls, having smashed 13 fours. This was his eighth FC fifty, which has taken his tally to 820 runs from 21 games at an average of 24-plus. Having scalped 3/118 in the first innings, the pacer was also the pick of the CZONE bowlers.
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Upendra made 87 runs
Like Shubham, Upendra also missed out on a hundred, having smoked 87 off 181 balls (8 fours, 2 sixes). This knock took him past 2,500 runs (now 2,571) at an average of 41-plus. This was his 13th fifty as he also owns seven tons.
Bowlers
Three wickets for Jadeja
Dharmendrasinh Jadeja was the only bowler to strike on Day 3 as he claimed three of the four fallen wickets, the other was a run-out dismissal. Having made his first strike on Day 2, the left-arm spinner finished with 4/101 from 41 overs. While the likes of Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande went wicket-less, Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian struck once.