South Zone walked out on the second morning under pressure, and within minutes that pressure turned into a full-blown crisis. From a seemingly manageable 40/2 in response to North Zone's 195, they were ripped open by Gurnoor Brar.
First, the set N Jagadeesan had his stumps shattered. Then Brar came again, twice in a hurry, and suddenly the scoreline read 80/5. North Zone, already 115 runs ahead on the first-innings equation, had one hand on the lead and the other hovering over South's throat.
That’s when the game changed.
Tilak Varma and Shreyas Gopal came together with South Zone staring down the barrel and simply refused to blink. They didn’t just survive; they seized control. Over more than 50 overs, they turned a fragile innings into a statement, grinding down an increasingly exasperated North Zone attack.
Every maiden over, every leave, every push into the gaps chipped away at North’s advantage. The bowlers hunted for that one breakthrough that would expose the tail and reopen the contest. It never came. Not for a long time.
The partnership swelled past fifty, then a hundred, then kept climbing. Both batters moved into the 80s, both eyeing centuries that would define the semifinal. North Zone’s lines grew ragged, the fields spread, the body language dipped. The game’s balance, so heavily tilted in the morning, now leaned decisively the other way.
The pressure finally told from the bowling side. Arshdeep Singh, bustling in, finally broke the 175-run stand, removing Gopal for a superb 88. The leg-spinning allrounder walked off to warm applause, having dragged his team out of deep trouble and into control.
Varma stayed. He shepherded the lower order, found enough support to keep the board moving, and reached a richly earned century even as partners disappeared around him. South Zone’s lead grew, quietly at first, then with a sense of inevitability.
By stumps, South Zone were no longer scrambling for parity; they were dictating terms. A 90-run first-innings lead with one wicket still in hand was a position they could scarcely have imagined at 80/5. The semifinal that looked like North Zone’s to command now rests firmly in South’s grip, built on one monumental stand that refused to break.
Central Zone vs East Zone: From Blitz to Breakdown
On the other side of the draw, East Zone began as if they intended to blow Central Zone away in a single session.
Chasing Central’s 266, they launched into the reply with swagger. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took center stage and turned the morning into his personal hitting exhibition. Seven times he cleared the ropes, dismantling plans, fields, and morale in an opening stand that rocketed to 161.
Central Zone looked rattled. East Zone looked set to bat them out of the match.
Then the innings flipped on its head.
Sooryavanshi, eight short of a dazzling hundred, fell to Harsh Dubey. The dismissal itself was big; what followed was seismic. Dubey struck again the very next ball, removing Kumar Kushagra and slicing through East’s early dominance in two deliveries.
The tone of the innings shifted. The fluency vanished. The scoreboard, once racing, began to stutter.
Abhimanyu Easwaran tried to pull things back, putting together a 39-run stand with Sudip Gharami. It hinted at stability, a chance to reset and still carve out a sizeable lead. That hope didn’t last.
Wickets began to tumble in clumps. Dubey kept probing, Aryan Pandey and Yash Thakur joined the assault, and East Zone’s middle and lower order simply caved. The last eight wickets disappeared for just 66 runs, turning what should have been a position of strength into a squandered opportunity.
In the space of a session, both teams had effectively cancelled each other out. The first innings, full of swings and collapses, left the match reset: a straight second-innings shootout for a place in the Duleep Trophy final.
Central Zone, stung by their earlier batting effort and sensing a fresh start, walked out with a chance to assert themselves. Instead, East Zone’s new-ball attack slammed the door.
Mukesh Kumar struck early, breaking the opening stand before it could settle. Mohammed Shami, all experience and precision, removed Aryan Juyal. Between those two blows, Rajat Patidar’s stay ended for just 5, bowled by Mukesh to deepen the crisis.
By the close, Central Zone were marooned at 43/3, the semifinal finely balanced but tilting, once again, towards the bowlers.
Two semifinals, two rescue acts, and two top orders under fire. The next innings in both games won’t just decide who reaches the final; it may reveal who truly has the temperament to survive knockout cricket.
