Central Zone’s seventh claim of the Duleep Trophy at the BCCI Centre of Excellence.
South Zone, dismissed for 149 in the first innings, staged a spirited comeback with 426 in their second, but Central’s commanding first-innings total of 511 had effectively decided the contest by the third day.
Saransh emphasised the persistence of this tournament has set the tone for the season ahead. The 32-year-old all-rounder stated, “You need momentum from the start of the season. It is the first tournament, so it feels good to start well. When you dismiss established batters, you grow in confidence, and that will help throughout the season.”
South Zone coach L Balaji, however, deplored the team’s first innings batting performance.
“Had we scored more runs in the first innings, or if the second-innings partnership (between Ankita Sharma and Andre Sidharth) had lasted longer, it would have been a solid game. A target of 140-160 would have been ideal for the bowling unit to fight,” pointed out the former India pacer.
Further, Balaji added, “The boys did their best. We played a good brand of cricket overall, and we tried our best with the inexperienced side. We were a young team with many playing their first Duleep Trophy, and they have learnt a lot from this.”
Central capped a memorable tournament on the back of standout individual performances. Skipper Patidar led from the front as the tournament’s top scorer with 382 runs, followed by Rathod (374) and Danish Malewar (353). Spinner Saransh Jain, named Player of the Tournament, claimed 16 wickets in three matches and added 136 runs. Both finalists had to reshuffle their line-ups ahead of the summit clash, with several players draughted into the India ‘A’ squad.
