South Zone will lock horns with the Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2025 final from September 11.
The Duleep Trophy 2025, which marked the beginning of India’s domestic season, nears its end as the two finalist teams are locked in. The South Zone will lock horns with the Central Zone in the final from September 11 to 15 at the BCCI CEG Ground in Bengaluru. In the semis, the South Zone side defeated the North Zone, and the Central Zone won against the West Zone by first-innings leads of 175 and 162 runs.
Here’s how India’s Test stars and hopefuls fared in the recently finished semi-finals.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has established himself as one of India’s most dependable batters in a very short time. But he didn’t have the outing he would have hoped for. Jaiswal’s return to domestic cricket wasn’t a memorable one, as he departed for just four runs, getting exposed to left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed. But he bounced back in the second innings from the failure to score a dodgy but quickfire fifty on a pitch that offered plenty of help for spinners. The southpaw amassed an eye-catching 64 off 70 balls before losing his wicket to Harsh Dubey, the leading wicket-taker of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season. His innings was laced with three humongous sixes and as many fours, striking at 91.42.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was ruled out of the IPL 2025 due to injury, returned to competitive cricket during the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament last month. The right-hand batter delivered a Test match batting masterclass in the semi-final, showcasing a great temperament, discipline and technique. Coming to bat at No.4, Gaikwad first steadied the ship to recover the West Zone from early losses. He forged a crucial 148 and 84-run partnership with Tanush Kotian and captain Shardul Thakur, respectively, to help his side to a respectable total of 438. Gaikwad alone amassed 184 off 206 balls. His runs come at an impressive strike rate of 89.32, with the help of 25 fours and a six. But he couldn’t replicate the same in the second innings and was dismissed for 16.
However, Gaikwad has bolstered his Test return for the upcoming two-match home series against West Indies in October.
Shreyas Iyer was the talk of the town when the Duleep Trophy 2025 kicked off, but not for his batting in the tournament. While there was a lot of chatter around his snub from India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad, Iyer was preparing to make his case for the Test return after nearly two years. But the Mumbaikar, who was dropped from the format in March 2024, couldn’t deliver up to his potential, falling cheaply in both innings. Batting at 5, Iyer managed 25 off 28 balls, including four boundaries in the first innings. He was further demoted to number six in the second innings, but he didn’t experience a change in fortune, walking back to the pavilion for just 12 runs.
Central Zone captain Rajat Patidar continued his form from quarterfinals to semi-finals. Patidar smashed his third successive 50-plus score in the ongoing Duleep Trophy as he took charge against West Zone bowlers. He batted with great intent as his team went past 300 on Day 3 morning. The Madhya Pradesh batter made a blistering 77 off just 84 balls, sharing a 127-run stand with Shubham Sharma. His knock was laced with 14 fours that is 56 runs in boundaries as he dominated the partnership with his breathtaking shots. The right-Why Sarfaraz Khan is Not in India A Squad for Multi-day Matches Against Australia Ahand batter looked set to touch the three-figure mark until Dharmendrasinh Jadeja ended his stay. In the process, Patidar also completed 5,000 First-Class runs during his stay.
After Ajinkya Rahane’s snub from the Duleep Trophy 2025, Shardul Thakur was named the West Zone’s captain. He played a captain’s knock under pressure, producing yet another brisk fifty while batting at no. eight. Thakur first played second fiddle to Gaikwad, but the latter’s departure, he begun play his shots to perfection and ended up getting 64 to his name off 98 balls. However, the right-hand batter faltered in the second innings, managing just six runs off nine balls.
On the bowling front, the West Zone captain under bowled himself, bowling just 11 overs out of 164.3. He conceded 42 runs at 3.81. The right-arm pacer didn’t get a chance to bowl in the second innings, as Central Zone didn’t bat and won the match by first-innings lead.
Khaleel Ahmed was part of the India A squad that travelled to England for two unofficial Tests, where he impressed, taking four wickets across two innings, just 19. Albeit he has been knocking selectors’ doors for a long time, Khaleel is proving his mettle almost every time he is taking the field.
It was Khaleel who played a crucial role in Central Zone’s victory, taking two crucial wickets upfront, setting the tone on the opening day. He dismissed India opener Jaiswal and no. 3 batter Aarya Desai early on in the first innings. However, the left-arm pacer didn’t get to bowl much in the second, rolling his arm for just overs. As the ball was turning square, it was Harsh Dubey and Saransh Jain who held the fort, bowling 45.3 overs and taking eight wickets between them.
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The Tamil Nadu batter has been consistent in domestic cricket for the last two seasons and has begun the upcoming season with a bang, missing out on his well-deserved double hundred by just three runs. He amassed 197 runs off 357 balls with 16 fours and two sixes but found a very poor way to get out – run out.
His innings powered South Zone to post a massive 536-run total on the board that eventually helped them to take a first innings 175-run lead and progress to the final. Jagadeesan didn’t stop there and scored an unbeaten 52 runs off just 69 balls with six fours.
Padikkal scored a fifty on his India debut at Dharamshala. He then featured in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, where he scored 25 runs in a lone Test, which saw him getting dropped from the Test setup. After a solid IPL 2025 campaign, the southpaw was coming into the tournament after scoring tonnes of runs in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 2025, where he top-scored with 449 runs, averaging 40.82 and at a strike rate of 154.83. He had a great chance to revive his Test career but probably missed out on it, managing despite making a 57 off 71 balls, including seven fours.
By the second innings came, the game was already done and dusted as batters were just playing the time. However, all eyes will be on the final, which will provide yet another chance for the Karnataka batter to up his stakes.
Playing his first match after a not-so-okay debut Test in England, Anshul Kamboj was under immense pressure coming into the semi-final. Kamboj, who took a 10-wicket innings haul in Ranji Trophy last year, did a decent job with the ball, kept attacking the stumps and kept hitting on typical six-to-seven-meter lengths. He took two crucial wickets, including Padikkal and South Zone captain Mohammed Azharuddeen. Kamboj bowled three overs in the second innings as well but failed to pick a wicket.
