South Zone dominated the opening day of their Duleep Trophy semifinal at the BCCI CoE on Sunday, August 30, bowling out North Zone for 195. Vidhwath Kaverappa spearheaded the attack with a four-wicket haul, while Tanay Thyagarajan and MD Nidheesh supported him with two wickets apiece. North Zone, having chosen to bat first, relied heavily on Qamran Iqbal’s 76, but struggled to find meaningful partnerships elsewhere. Ayush Doseja contributed 23, while captain Kanhaiya Wadhawan added 35 during a 66-run stand. However, North Zone collapsed late in the innings, losing their final five wickets for just 21 runs. By the close of play, North Zone had struck back to reduce South Zone to 40 for 2, with N. Jagadeesan unbeaten on 34.
In the second semifinal, Central Zone posted 266 in their first innings against East Zone. Rinku Singh top-scored with 60, supported by Aryan Juyal’s 46. East Zone’s bowling unit maintained consistent pressure throughout the day, led by Abhijit Sarkar and Mukesh Kumar, who each claimed three wickets.
- Abhijit Sarkar struck twice to dismiss Aman Mokhade and Kunal Chandela, putting early pressure on the Central Zone lineup.
- When captain Rajat Patidar was dismissed LBW by Mukesh Kumar for 12, Central Zone found themselves struggling at 66 for 3.
- The situation worsened to 125 for 5 after Mukesh Kumar trapped Aryan Juyal LBW for 46.
Rinku Singh eventually anchored the lower middle-order, sharing a vital 55-run partnership with Harsh Dubey. The tail provided late resistance, highlighted by Yash Thakur’s unbeaten 30, which included six boundaries, helping Central Zone reach a more respectable total. Brief scores: North Zone 195 (Qamran Iqbal 76; Vidhwath Kaverappa 4-66, Tanay Thyagarajan 2-31) lead South Zone 40/2 (N. Jagadeesan 34*; Anshul Kamboj 1-9) by 155 runs. Central Zone 266 (Rinku Singh 60, Aryan Juyal 46; Abhijit Sarkar 3-38, Mukesh Kumar 3-56) vs East Zone. The report also notes that just as they had done in the quarters against West but apart from Iqbal’s 76 there were no substantial contributions, north opted to bat. The report also notes that no.3 batter Ayush Doseja struck five boundaries in his knock of 23 before falling to Kavuri Saiteja. The report also notes that slipping to 95 for 4 inside the opening session of the contest, north then lost Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad in quick succession. The report also notes that north did hit back before close of play though with both Kamboj and Guroor Brar striking once each even as N. The report also notes that jagadeesan raced away to an unbeaten 34. The report also notes that it was left to Rinku to shepherd the lower middle-order and he did a fine job to that extent put on an important 55-run stand with Harsh Dubey.
