India’s domestic season for 2025/26 began on August 28. The top performers from the Ranji Trophy 2024/25 and the India probables from six zonal teams competed for the Duleep Trophy 2025 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
In the knockout rounds, the Central Zone, led by Rajat Patidar, defeated the North East Zone and then the strong West Zone to reach the final. The South Zone faced off against the North Zone in the semi-final to secure their spot in the final against the Central Zone.
Rajat Patidar wins the Duleep Trophy 2025
Central Zone wins the Duleep Trophy under Rajat Patidar’s captaincy. After winning the toss, Patidar chose to have the South Zone bat first. In-form Saransh Jain took his second five-wicket haul of the competition, supported by Kumar Kartikeya’s 4/53. Yash Rathod, the top run-scorer from the Ranji Trophy 2024/25, maintained his good form with a 192 off 286 balls. Patidar also made a significant contribution with his fourth consecutive 50 plus score and second century of the tournament, helping the team to a 352-run lead.
Danish Malewar, who scored a double century in the quarter-finals, added an important 53 off 120 balls at the top. Saransh chipped in with 69 runs, while Gurjapneet Singh and Ankit Sharma each took four wickets. Ravichandran Smaran scored 67, Andre Siddarth made 84, and Ankit Sharma was just shy of a century with 99, brings the match to the final day. However, Central Zone successfully chased down the 66 runs needed, winning by six wickets.
Central Zone win trophy, Rathod named as Player of match
With Central Zone win the Duleep Trophy 2025, Rathod was named Player of the Match for his 194 runs, while Saransh earned the title of Player of the Tournament for his 16 wickets and 136 runs. Captain Patidar finished the tournament as the highest scorer, amassing 382 runs at an average of 74.40.
For the South Zone, Gurjapneet’s 10 wickets in 3 innings provided some resistance after they played catch-up for most of the final. Next, Ranji champions Vidarbha will face the Rest of India team in an Irani Cup match in Nagpur on October 1.
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