4 days ago
Patidar, Sooryavanshi Headline Duleep Trophy Semifinal Showdowns
The Duleep Trophy is down to four teams.
Central Zone, last year’s champions, will play East Zone.
South Zone, last year’s runners-up, will play North Zone.
Central and South entered the semifinals directly, while East and North won quarterfinals.
East won its quarterfinal by a very large margin, helped by Shahbaz Ahmed, Sudip Kumar Gharami, and several bowlers.
North won a much closer match against West Zone because Abid Mushtaq bowled extremely well.
Players such as Rajat Patidar, Tilak Varma, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could have major roles.
The winners will advance to the Duleep Trophy final.
Defending champions Central Zone will face East Zone in Bengaluru, while South Zone meet North Zone.
East Zone reached the semifinals after defeating North East Zone by an innings and 210 runs.
Central Zone, led by Rajat Patidar, retained a strong core and has considerable bowling depth.
North Zone defeated West Zone by 52 runs, with Abid Mushtaq recording match figures of 9/99.
The semifinals are scheduled for Sunday, August 30, at BCCI Centre of Excellence grounds.
- Who
- Central Zone, East Zone, South Zone, and North Zone, including players such as Rajat Patidar, Tilak Varma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and Abid Mushtaq.
- What
- The teams will contest the two Duleep Trophy semifinals.
- Where
- BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1 and Ground 2 in Bengaluru.
- When
- Sunday, August 30, with matches scheduled to begin at 9:30 AM IST.
- Why
- They are competing for places in the Duleep Trophy final.
Experience and Continuity
Momentum and Resilience
Central versus East
Experience and Continuity
Central Zone has the continuity of last year’s championship core, led by Rajat Patidar, with Rinku Singh and a deep bowling attack.
Momentum and Resilience
East Zone enters after a dominant quarterfinal, with major contributions from Shahbaz Ahmed, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Anukul Roy, and Abhijit Sarkar.
South versus North
Experience and Continuity
South Zone has an experienced batting lineup led by Tilak Varma and featuring Ricky Bhui, Narayan Jagadeesan, and Karun Nair.
Momentum and Resilience
North Zone has shown resilience after edging West Zone by 52 runs, with Abid Mushtaq and Ayush Badoni making important contributions.
North Zone selection
Experience and Continuity
North Zone selected Yash Dhull, a former India Under-19 World Cup-winning captain, for the quarterfinal.
Momentum and Resilience
The selection drew criticism because Sanat Sangwan, described as North’s third-highest Ranji Trophy run-scorer, was left out; Dhull scored nine and a duck against West Zone.
Key facts
- Semifinal 1
- Central Zone versus East Zone
- Semifinal 2
- South Zone versus North Zone
- East Zone quarterfinal
- Defeated North East Zone by an innings and 210 runs
- North Zone quarterfinal
- Defeated West Zone by 52 runs
- North Zone standout
- Abid Mushtaq recorded match figures of 9/99
- East Zone batting
- Shahbaz Ahmed scored 167 and Sudip Kumar Gharami scored 146 in the quarterfinal
- Broadcast
- The matches will be streamed on the JioHotstar app and website
Sources
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