North Zone boast second-most Duleep Trophy titles: Decoding stats
What's the story
The 2025 Duleep Trophy, India's premier First-Class domestic red-ball cricket tournament, will be underway on August 28. Shubman Gill has been appointed as the skipper of the North Zone for the competition. Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, and Arshdeep Singh are the other prominent players in the squad. It must be noted that NOZ are the second-most successful team in Duleep Trophy history with a whopping 18 titles. Here we decode their stats.
Historical dominance
Second-most titles in tournament history
North Zone have tasted the glory 18 times across the 55 Duleep Trophy editions that have been conducted in the zonal format. Only West Zone are ahead of NOZ with 19 titles. South Zone (13) is the only other side with more than seven trophies. Notably, it took NOZ 13 seasons since the inception of the Duleep Trophy in 1961 to clinch their maiden title.
Final feats
Second-most final appearances as well
North Zone have also made the second-most final appearances in Duleep Trophy history, with a staggering 26. They are again behind WEZ (33) on this list. South Zone (23), and Central Zone (16) are the other teams with over 10 final appearances. Across their 106 matches in the tournament so far, NOZ have won 51, lost 31, and drawn 24. The only other side with 50-plus victories is WEZ (56).
Star players
Who owns most runs and wickets for NOZ?
With 2,265 runs at 51.47, Vikram Rathour of NOZ is the second-highest run-scorer in Duleep Trophy history. He is only behind WEZ's Wasim Jaffer (2,545). Ajay Sharma, another NOZ star, is fourth on this list with 1,961 runs at 57.67. Meanwhile, Maninder Singh boasts the most Duleep Trophy wickets for NOZ - 83 at an average of 24.12 (5W: 5).
Information
NOZ own the highest team total in Duleep Trophy
North Zone smashed 868/10 against WEZ in 1987. This remains the only 800-plus team total in Duleep Trophy history. In fact, NOZ boast five of the top-eight highest totals in the competition.
Schedule
North Zone to take on East Zone
The North Zone squad will take on East Zone in the first quarter-final game, starting August 28 in Bengaluru. A victory would take them to the semi-final where they will meet the winner of the second quarter-final, which will see Central Zone face off against North East Zone. Notably, West Zone and South Zone have already made it to the semi-finals of this year's edition.
Information
Here is the North Zone squad
Squad: Shubman Gill (captain, PCA), Ankit Kumar (vice-captain, HCA), Shubham Khajuria (JKCA), Ayush Badoni (DDCA), Yash Dhull (DDCA), Ankit Kalsi (HPCA), Nishant Sindhu (HCA), Sahil Lotra (JKCA), Mayank Dagar (HPCA), Yudhvir Singh Charak (JKCA), Arshdeep Singh (PCA), Harshit Rana (DDCA), Anshul Kamboj (HCA), Auqib Nabi (JKCA), Kanhaiya Wadhawan (wicketkeeper, JKCA).