Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinals: Jagadeesan century puts South in control against North; Gaikwad rescues West vs Central
Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinals: Jagadeesan century puts South in control against North; Gaikwad rescues West vs Central
N. Jagadeesan (148*) was at his dogged best, powering South Zone to a comfortable 297 for three against North Zone on the opening day of their Duleep Trophy semifinal in Bengaluru on Thursday.
On a BCCI COE Ground (1) pitch which did not offer much help to the bowlers, Jagadeesan stood firm for a little over six hours.
Jagadeesan and his opening partner Tanmay Agarwal (43, 99b, 5×4) saw off the new ball, in a partnership which extended into the second session. When the afternoon sun peeped out in an otherwise cloudy day, Jagadeesan looked for the scoring shots. Anything full from spinners Nishant Sindhu and Mayank Dagar were casually lifted over the in-field for boundaries.
Jagadeesan, who recently earned his maiden Test call-up as a replacement for an injured Rishabh Pant, took full advantage of an early reprieve. Batting on nine, Jagadeesan nicked one from fast bowler Anshul Kamboj, only for a no-ball to be declared.
Devdutt Padikkal (57, 71b, 7×4) looked fluent, using his feet well and finding the gaps in the field. A loose swipe outside off to Kamboj, however, brought his downfall.
In the other semifinal, Ruturaj Gaikwad (184, 206b, 25×4, 1×6) stole the limelight to guide West Zone to 363 for six against Central Zone.
Gaikwad walked in with his side in mild bother at 10 for two, ahead of Shreyas Iyer.
The Maharashtra batter thrived in the company of Aarya Desai (39), Shreyas (25) and Tanush Kotian (65 batting, 121b, 5×4) to reach his eighth First Class century. He looked set for a maiden double hundred, until he was stumped by off-spinner Saransh Jain.
Shreyas’ hopes of making a point to the national selectors came undone with a poor stroke. Attempting a late cut to a sharp, straight delivery from left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed, Shreyas lost his stumps.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (4) also disappointed, falling leg-before to Khaleel in the first over.
Published on Sep 04, 2025
