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A poor batting performance put South Zone in a difficult position on the first day of the Duleep Trophy final against Central Zone. Playing at the BCCI CoE Ground (1) in Bengaluru, South Zone was dismissed for a paltry 149 due to poor shot selection, a lack of temperament, and a clumsy run-out. Spinners Saransh Jain and Kumar Kartikeya were the stars with the ball, taking a combined nine wickets—Jain with 5 for 49 and Kartikeya with 4 for 53.
By the end of the day, Central Zone's openers had cruised to 50 without loss, proving that the pitch wasn't as difficult to bat on as South Zone had made it seem.
South Zone's batting collapse began with opener Mohit Kale (9), who was bowled after attempting a wild slog sweep against left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya. He was quickly followed by Karnataka batter R. Smaran, a replacement for Devdutt Padikkal. Smaran also threw his wicket away, miscuing a shot off Kartikeya and being caught at mid-wicket.
The comedy of errors continued with opener Tanmay Agarwal (31), who was run out in a comical mix-up. After coming back for a second run, he collided with his partner Ricky Bhui in the middle of the pitch, leaving him stranded by a wide margin. Skipper Mohammed Azharuddeen was one of the few batters to be dismissed by a truly good delivery. A brilliant ball from Kartikeya pitched outside the leg stump, squared him up, and hit the off stump.
Off-spinner Saransh Jain then took over, trapping Ricky Bhui (15) lbw. Jain continued to cause trouble with his loop and turn, enticing Andre Siddarth (12) out of his crease. Siddarth was beaten all ends up, allowing wicketkeeper Upendra Yadav to complete a sharp stumping. While Salman Nizar (24) and Ankit Sharma (20) managed to put up some resistance, they couldn't stop Central Zone's dominance. The Central Zone bowlers continued to take wickets at regular intervals, ensuring the first day of the final belonged to them.
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