Abhinav Mukund (164) and Amit Verma (148) struck hundreds as South Zone inched towards an outright win over Central Zone at the end of third day's play in the semi-final of the Duleep Trophy cricket tournament in Hyderabad on Friday. Needing 770 runs to win, Central Zone were precariously placed at 73 for two in their second innings at stumps on the penultimate day of the four-day match.
Mumbai youngster Suryakumar Yadav hit a sparkling century under pressure to guide West Zone to a respectable 299 for 7 in the Duleep Trophy match against East Zone, in Valsad, on Friday.
Ramesh Powar wrecked South Zone with a 10-wicket match haul as West Zone lifted their 17th Duleep Trophy title after overwhelming the hosts by 274 runs in the five-day final in Chennai on Monday.
West Zone took command of the Duleep Trophy final after scoring 459 in the first innings and then reducing South Zone to 106 for 4 by stumps on the second day of the five-day match in Chennai on Friday. Skipper Subramaniam Badrinath, who was unbeaten on 54 at stumps, holds the key to South's fortunes. Keeping him company at stumps was Dinesh Karthik on 5. Earlier, West, resuming at the overnight score of 303-5, were dismissed for 459.
Disciplined bowling performance by medium pacer Laxmipathy Balaji and leg spinner M Suresh helped South Zone to thrash North Zone by a huge margin of 411 on the fourth and final day of four-day Duleep Trophy semi-final played in Rajkot on Sunday.
A fine half century knock by Rahul Deewan (81) helped North Zone reach 172 for three wickets in reply to South Zone's daunting first innings 548 on the second day of the four-day Duleep Trophy semifinal at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in Rajkot on Friday.
Central Zone's Mohammad Kaif on Sunday posted a captain's knock of 87 runs to draw the match but could not prevent South Zone from entering the Duleep Trophy semi-finals by virtue of their narrow three-run first innings lead.
Talented batter Yash Dhull hit a superb 193 decorated with 28 fours and two sixes to power North Zone to 433/3 in their first innings at stumps on day three of the Duleep Trophy quarter-final against East Zone.
Dissatisfied with the performance of 'weak' foreign squads, the BCCI is planning to include a side comprising National Cricket Academy trainees as the sixth team.
Acutely short of match practice, senior fast bowler Ishant Sharma is set to play the next Duleep Trophy match between India Blue and India Green, starting in Delhi, on Tuesday.
Prithvi Shaw became the youngest cricketer to score a century in the final match of Duleep Trophy, reaching the milestone while propping up India Red against India Blue on the opening day, in Lucknow, on Monday.
Persistent rain washed out the opening day's play of the Duleep Trophy final match between Central Zone and East Zone without a ball being bowled in Chennai, on Sunday.
The relentless West Zone bowlers left South Zone on a fragile terrain at 182 for seven on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Bengal's left-arm spinner Iresh Saxena and part-time leg-break bowler Anustup Majumdar shared nine wickets amongst themselves as East Zone won their second successive Duleep Trophy title beating Central Zone by virtue of 43-run first innings lead.
Indian opener Virender Sehwag will lead the 15-member North Zone team in their Duleep Trophy match against West Zone scheduled to be held early next month at Chennai, the selectors said.
Opener Tanmay Srivastava kept Central Zone's hopes of Duleep Trophy title alive with a patient 46 not out as his side ended the fourth day of the summit clash against East Zone at 74 for two in their first innings in Chennai on Wednesday.
Paras Dogra struck a strokeful half century as North Zone piled on a big total of 484 in their first innings to place themselves in a commanding position on the second day of the four-day Duleep Trophy quarter-final match against West Zone in Chennai on Sunday.
Just like yesterday, the third day's play in the four-day match between India Green and India Blue in Kanpur was also washed out.
Wriddhiman Saha continued in his rich vein of form and struck a brilliant 170, which put East Zone in a commanding position against Central Zone at stumps, on the second day of the Duleep Trophy final in Indore, on Monday. Replying to Central's meagre 133, East were all out for 370 in their first innings, a sizeable lead of 237 runs.
Paras Dogra saved North Zone from a disaster as he smashed an aggressive unbeaten 147 to take his side to 266 for seven on the first day of the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone on Wednesday.
Yusuf Pathan scored an unbeaten 210 as West Zone beat South Zone by three wickets to win the Duleep Trophy in Hyderabad on Saturday. Chasing an improbable 536 for victory, West, who ended day four on 379 for 6, finished with 541.
By close of play on Friday, the third day of the Duleep Trophy quarter-final, at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack, East had established an overall lead of 61 runs over Central Zone, having taken a first innings lead of 37. At stumps, they were 24 for 1 in their second innings.
Young Delhi all-rounder Harshit Rana showed his all-round prowess as North Zone finished the opening day of their Duleep Trophy semi-final against South Zone.
The match ended without even the first innings being completed, and both teams got a point each.
Reeling at 156 for six at stumps on the fourth and penultimate day, South Zone were staring at a heavy defeat
Captain Shikhar Dhawan scored a superb 101 to help North Zone reach 251 for three against West Zone on the opening day of the four-day Duleep Trophy quarter-final match in Chennai on Saturday.
Yash Rathod has the sixth-highest first-class average for any Indian batter with at least 2000 runs, going past Vijay Hazare (58.38) and Vinod Kambli (59.67).
Defending champions East Zone will seek to do an encore when they meet an upbeat Central Zone in Duleep Trophy cricket tournament final which is a virtual replay of last edition played in Indore.
Bengal speedster Ashok Dinda's hostile spell of fast bowling helped defending champions East Zone reach the final of the Duleep Trophy for the second successive time after beating South Zone by virtue of 23-run first innings lead.
After their batsmen's limp outing, North Zone bowlers produced a gritty effort to bowl out South Zone for 195 to give their team a slender advantage on Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy semifinals.
Senior cricketers Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina will lead India Red, India Blue and India Green teams respectively in the Duleep Trophy to be played at Greater Noida International Cricket Stadium from August 23 to September 14. The four-day tournament will be played for the first time with pink ball and under lights.
Taking a cue from the success of the first Day-Night Test in Adelaide last year, the Tour and Program Fixtures Committee has recommended to the BCCI Technical panel to consider organising the Duleep Trophy matches with pink ball.
Injuries to Worcestershire wicketkeeper Steven Davies and his county colleague Kabir Ali has necessitated the England and Wales Cricket Board to make changes in the England Lions Squad to take part in the Duleep Trophy tournament to be held in West Zone centres.
Central Zone make four changes in squad for Duleep Trophy final against South Zone
R Vinay Kumar wrecked havoc with a four-wicket haul as South Zone humiliated Central Zone by 552 runs to set up a summit clash with North Zone in the Duleep Trophy in Hyderabad on Saturday.
East Zone are all but through to the finals of the Duleep Trophy as Ashok Dinda's fiery spell ensured an all-important first-innings lead of 28 runs against North Zone on the penultimate day, at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
Washington Sundar smashed a fifty and scalped two key batsmen to put India Red in the driver's seat against India Blue on the second day of the Duleep Trophy final, in Lucknow, on Tuesday.
It was purely a 'Batsman's Evening' with Tamil Nadu opener Abhinav Mukund and talented Bengal boy Sudeep Chatterjee's twin tons took India Red to a commanding 354-run lead against India Green on the second day of the Duleep Trophy on Wednesday in Greater Noida. After the bowlers ruled the roost with 17 wickets on the first day, it was the turn of southpaws Abhinav (162 batting, 212 balls) and Sudeep (114, 182 balls) to conjure up a 240-run partnership for the second wicket.
Gujarat opener Priyank Panchal started off his new season with a patient 105 in India's Red's none too impressive 232 for 5 as Murali Vijay and Karun Nair surprised one and all sharing bulk of the spoils for India Green on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy.
The BCCI is mulling November 19 as the tentative date for start of domestic season with Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament but Indian players in various IPL teams won't be able to play first few rounds due to quarantine protocols in place.