Madhya Pradeshโs Rajat Patidar was not Central Zoneโs first-choice captain. He was made captain after Dhruv Jurel was ruled out of Duleep Trophy 2025. The move paid of as Patidar-led Central Zone beat South Zone by six wickets to claim the title after a long wait of nearly 11 years. The skipper and Yash Rathod starred in the run chase with centuries. Despite fightback on Day 4 from Andre Siddarth C and Ankit Sharma, South Zone set a non-threatening target of 65 which was achieved in the first session on Day 5.ย
Collapse on Day 1
Earlier, on Day 1, Patidar won the toss and opted to bowl first at BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground, Bengaluru. Saransh Jain picked a fifer and Kumar Kartikeya bagged four wickets to bowl out South Zone for 149 on Day 1.ย
Patidar, Rathod score big
In reply, Patidar scored 101 with ODI-like strike rate. He hit 12 fours and two sixes in his 101 off 115 balls. Rathod missed out on his double century. He scored 194 runs from 286 deliveries, including 17 fours and two sixes. Opener Danish Malewar and Saransh contributed with their respective fifties as Central Zone posted 511 on the board, taking a massive 362-run lead. Gurjapneet and Ankit toiled hard but claimed four wickets each.ย
South Zoneโs fightback
South Zone put up a fight in the second innings. Each of the top eight batters scored in double digits. Smaran Ravichandran scored 67 off 118 balls. But, no South Zone batter could score a century. They were 222/6 and it seemed that they will lose by an innings. But, Andre and Ankit shared a 192-run partnership for the seventh wicket to get rid of the trail. Andre remained unbeaten for 84 whereas Ankit departed for 99, missing his century by a whisker. Kartikeya and Saransh combined to take seven wickets as South Zone's second innings ended for 426.
Early wickets fall in run chase
Defending a low score, Ankit drew first blood with wicket of Malewar. Gurjapneet struck twice in the ninth over to dismiss Shubham Sharma and Saransh. Patidar could not finish the run chase as he lost his wicket to Ankit for a score of 13. Wadkar and Rathod ensured there are no further lapses to lead Central Zone to a six-wicket win.
Central Zoneโs long wait ends
The last time Central Zone won Duleep Trophy was in 2014 when Piyush Chawla was captain. More than a decade ago, they beat Vijay Kumar-led South Zone which featured the likes of Robin Uthappa, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Hanuma Vihari and Pragyan Ojha. Overall, this is Central Zone's sixth Duleep Trophy title.
Patidar does it again
This is Patidarโs first major tournament win as captain. More than three months ago, he ended Royal Challengers Bengaluruโs (RCB) wait for a maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title.ย
What's next for Patidar?
Now, he will lead India A against Australia A in the first game of the One-Day series. For the two One-Day games, he will be Tilak Varmaโs deputy. However, he could not find a place in India A's squad for two multi-day games against Australia A.