The Duleep Trophy semifinals opened with the ball dictating terms at the BCCI CoE, South Zone and East Zone stitching together hard-nosed, disciplined days that left both their opponents straining for control.
Kaverappa cuts through North as South land early blows
South Zone’s attack needed only one sustained burst to rip the heart out of North Zone’s innings. That burst came from Vidhwath Kaverappa.
On a surface that rewarded accuracy more than extravagance, the seamer finished with 4 for 66, his spellbook highlighted by the dismissal of North’s mainstay, Qamran Iqbal, and a ruthless demolition of the lower order. Around him, the support cast did not drift. Tanay Thyagarajan (2 for 31) and MD Nidheesh (2 wickets) kept a tight leash, squeezing out any thoughts North had of a commanding first-innings total.
North had backed their batsmen again, choosing to bat first just as they did in the quarterfinal against West. This time, the script never quite took off.
Iqbal stood tall for 76, the one innings of substance in a line-up that flickered but never truly burned. At No.3, Ayush Doseja looked promising, threading five boundaries in his 23, only to fall to Kavuri Saiteja. The double blow followed swiftly: Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad departed in quick time, and the scoreline of 95 for 4 inside the first session told its own story.
Captain Kanhaiya Wadhawan tried to steady the ship. His 35, part of a 66-run stand with Iqbal, was the only partnership that suggested North might yet muscle their way to a competitive score. Thyagarajan shattered that illusion, castling Wadhawan and ripping open the innings again.
From there, it was Iqbal against the tide and a lower order that, this time, had no escape act in it.
In the previous game, Anshul Kamboj had engineered a spirited rescue from the depths. Here, Kaverappa returned after an expensive first spell and made sure there would be no encore. North’s final five wickets disappeared for just 21 runs, the innings folding at 195 — a total that felt light given the stakes and the platform Iqbal had provided.
The day, though, refused to belong entirely to South.
With the new ball in hand, North hit back. Kamboj and Guroor Brar struck once each, denting South’s reply before it could settle. At 40 for 2, South were wary but not rattled, largely because N. Jagadeesan batted as if playing a different game altogether. He raced to an unbeaten 34, brisk and assured, trimming the deficit and shifting some of the pressure back onto the fielding side.
By stumps, the equation read: North Zone 195, South Zone 40 for 2, South trailing by 155. A low-scoring arm-wrestle has begun, and the next session will decide whether North’s collapse was a blip or a fatal crack.
East’s collective strike keeps Central in check
On the adjoining front, East Zone’s bowlers turned a potentially big Central Zone total into something far more manageable, rolling them for 266 despite a combative 60 from Rinku Singh.
East chose to bowl first and backed that decision with a sharp, collective effort. Abhijit Sarkar set the tone, his 3 for 38 breaking open the top order. He removed both openers, Aman Mokhade and Kunal Chandela, to leave Central searching for stability almost from the outset.
Central’s hopes rested heavily on their captain, Rajat Patidar. When he fell LBW to Mukesh Kumar for 12, the innings sagged again. At 66 for 3, East had their tails up. Mukesh, probing and relentless, finished with 3 for 56 and kept punching holes through the middle.
Aryan Juyal, with 46, tried to stitch the innings back together, but he too was trapped LBW by Mukesh. The score slumped to 125 for 5, and Central stared at the prospect of being rolled out for something well under par.
Rinku changed the tone.
He did not explode; he accumulated. Eight boundaries in an 88-ball 60, a knock built on shot selection and an understanding that he would have to shepherd the lower middle order if Central were to claw their way to respectability. With Harsh Dubey, he added 55, the partnership halting East’s charge and dragging the innings into safer territory.
Even after Rinku’s dismissal, Central refused to fold. The last-wicket pair of Yash Thakur and Arshad Khan squeezed out crucial runs. Arshad’s contribution was almost symbolic — 1 run from 9 balls — but his resistance allowed Thakur to free his arms. Thakur cracked six boundaries in a lively 26-ball 30*, a cameo that nudged the total to 266 and gave Central something tangible to work with.
East, though, will walk into the second day knowing they have already done the hard yards. They prised out the big names, shared the wickets, and stopped Central from running away with the game.
Now the question hangs over both semifinals: can North and Central turn those battling, imperfect totals into something their bowlers can defend, or will South and East, already with the ball talking, turn this into a decisive swing towards the South and East corridors of Indian domestic cricket?
