Duleep Trophy Showdown: Patidar’s Central Take On East, Tilak’s South Face North In Last Four

The Duleep Trophy enters its decisive stage on Sunday with four teams battling for a place in the final, as defending champions Central Zone take on a confident East Zone while last year’s runners-up South Zone meet North Zone.

Central, led by Rajat Patidar for a second successive season, enter the semifinal with a settled squad after receiving a direct entry into the last four. Patidar will be one of the players to watch after an impressive season in the IPL and MP T20 League, while Rinku Singh brings experience to the middle order.

Central’s bowling attack could prove decisive. Saransh Jain and Harsh Dubey give the side a strong spin combination, with Yash Thakur adding pace and first-class experience. Zeeshan Ansari, rewarded for his recent domestic performances, is another player capable of making an impact.

East, however, will arrive with considerable momentum after dismantling North East Zone by an innings and 210 runs in the quarterfinal. Sudip Gharami and Shahbaz Ahmed struck centuries, while Shahbaz also picked up four wickets. Anukul Roy claimed a five-wicket haul and Abhijit Sarkar finished with six wickets in the match.

Skipper Ishan Kishan adds experience to an exciting East line-up that also includes Abhimanyu Easwaran and teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

In the other semifinal, Tilak Varma will captain a powerful South Zone batting unit featuring Ricky Bhui, Narayan Jagadeesan and Karun Nair. Shreyas Gopal and Tanay Thyagarajan strengthen the spin department, while Vidwath Kaverappa provides pace.

North earned their semifinal berth by defeating star-studded West Zone by 52 runs, with left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq producing outstanding figures of 9/99.

Mushtaq will again be central to North’s hopes, while Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad and Anshul Kamboj give the team plenty of batting firepower. India pacer Gurnoor Brar could also return after his impressive performances for India A.

With Central and South bringing experience and North and East carrying momentum, the semifinals promise two closely fought contests with a place in the Duleep Trophy final at stake.