Duleep Trophy 2025, WZ vs CZ: Saransh Jain’s all-round blitz books finale berth for Central Zone

Duleep Trophy. (Photo source: Getty Images)

The Central Zone are all set to challenge South Zone in their title defence in the ongoing Duleep Trophy 2025, when the two sides engage in a clash for the final at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground in Bengaluru. The Rajat Patidar-led managed a first-inning’s lead in the semi-final against West Zone to confirm their berth for the summit clash, which is set to begin on September 11 in a five-day fixture.

In the semi-final clash, the first couple of days seemed to be in the Shardul Thakur-led side’s favour. However, a shift in momentum on Day 3 completely changed the context of the penultimate clash. West Zone had batted first and posted a strong 438 in the first innings. Saransh Jain and Harsh Dubey had shared three wickets each in the innings, but the bigger task for the duo was to contribute with the bat as well.

As it turned out, Dubey (75) and Jain (63*) took care of the lower-middle-order and contributed with fine half-centuries in Central Zone’s reply, as their side took a 162-run lead after putting up 600 in their first innings. West Zone opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (64 off 70 in 2nd innings) showed a positive intent on the final day as his side’s innings began with a sizeable deficit. However, he lacked support from the other end, as the match slipped away.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had narrowly missed out on a double ton in the first innings, was cleaned up by Dubey in the second for a paltry score. Names like Shreyas Iyer and Tanush Kotian, too, couldn’t do much, as Saransh Jain wreaked havoc in the middle on the final day of the match, taking a stellar five-wicket haul. While eight wickets had falled in the innings, the lead was only 54 runs for West Zone.

Skipper Shardul’s dismissal prompted his opposition counterpart to shake hands for a draw, as the match didn’t look in West Zone’s favour at all. A formal gesture meant that the on-field umpires flicked the bails off to officially call the match off. With an outstanding all-round display, the 32-year-old Saransh Jain got the Player of the Match award for 63 runs and eights wickets.

Speaking of the first semi-final, the epic clash between North Zone and South Zone also went in a draw, as Narayan Jagadeesan’s fearless batting outplayed the Ankit Kumar-led side. A first-inning’s lead helped South Zone go into their fourth-straight final. The summit clash will be a repeat of the 2014 edition, where the two sides had last met in a finale. Central Zone won the one in 2014, but the Southerners will be hoping for a turnaround, whereas, Patidar & Co. will look to assert dominance.

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