South Zone has officially punched its ticket to the Duleep Trophy 2026 final after a dominant display at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2 in Bengaluru. Captain Tilak Varma, fresh off a brilliant century in the first innings, anchored the chase with an unbeaten 51 to steer his side to a seven-wicket victory on Wednesday. The result was largely set up by bowler MD Nidheesh, who dismantled the North Zone tail early on the fourth day to ensure the target remained well within reach.
Final day collapse for North Zone
Resuming the day at 256/7 with a lead of 139, North Zone hoped to set a challenging total. Anshul Kamboj and Nishant Sindhu managed to stretch their partnership to 60 runs, but the momentum shifted when Nidheesh bowled Kamboj for 36. Although Gurnoor Brar and Arshdeep Singh briefly threatened with a six each, Nidheesh proved too clinical, cleaning up the remaining batters to finish with impressive figures of 5-56. North Zone was eventually bowled out for 297, leaving Sindhu stranded on 35 and setting South Zone a target of 181 runs.
The chase and tactical composure
South Zone’s pursuit began with a solid 64-run opening stand between Ricky Bhui and Narayan Jagadeesan. Bhui played aggressively, hitting seven boundaries in his 42-run cameo before falling to Gurnoor Brar. Following the dismissal of Shaik Rasheed, Jagadeesan and Varma navigated the team to 72/2 by the lunch break. Despite Jagadeesan being stumped off Abid Mushtaq for 43, the result was never in doubt. R Smaran joined Varma at the crease, and the pair combined for an unbroken 79-run partnership to close out the match.
Tournament context and upcoming final
The foundation for this victory was laid during the first innings when South Zone recovered from a precarious 80/5. Varma’s unbeaten 116, supported by a 175-run stand with Shreyas Gopal, erased North Zone’s initial 195-run total and provided a crucial 117-run lead. While Sanat Sangwan and Ayush Doseja provided resistance with fifties for North Zone, the team could not recover from their second-innings collapse. South Zone is now set to face East Zone in the summit clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, beginning September 6. The report also notes that before Tilak’s patient knock steered South Zone home by seven wickets at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2 in Bengaluru on Wednesday, mD Nidheesh bagged a five-wicket haul to bowl North Zone out early on Day 4. The report also notes that having begun the day with their lead standing at 139, north Zone added 41 runs to their overnight score of 256/7.
Match Summary
- North Zone: 195 & 297 (Sanat Sangwan 76, Ayush Doseja 52; MD Nidheesh 5-56, Kavuri Saiteja 2-57)
- South Zone: 312 & 182/3 (Tilak Varma 51*, Narayan Jagadeesan 43, Ricky Bhui 42; Abid Mushtaq 2-55)
- Result: South Zone won by 7 wickets.
