Under pressure to retain his place in the Test XI, Cheteshwar Pujara overshadowed Rohit Sharma by scoring a solid hundred as India Blue made full use of a placid track to amass 362/3 against India Red on the first day of the Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida.
Dhruv Jurel, who impressed during India's series-levelling tour of England, was on Thursday named captain of Central Zone for the season-opening Duleep Trophy, set to begin on August 28 in Bengaluru.
With the twin home Test series against West Indies and then against South Africa, Gaikwad's resurgence comes just at the right time, giving selectors another reminder of his ability after a difficult few months.
'I see them as well rested India players. Could have been selected for the Duleep Trophy.'
Salman Nizar smashed an unprecedented 11 sixes off 13 balls including a 40-run final over
The 24-year-old pacer, handed his maiden international cap, is being hailed as a 'good replacement' by former India quick Varun Aaron
Kuldeep Yadav could have helped India take 20 wickets in England series, says Michael Clarke
Veteran opener Gautam Gambhir and young Mayank Agarwal helped themselves to half centuries before torrential rain played spoilsport in the Duleep Trophy match between India 'Blue' and India 'Red' in Greater Noida on Monday. Only 34.2 overs of play was possible which saw 'Blue' team skipper Gambhir (51 batting) and Agarwal (53 batting) put on 105 runs for the opening wicket. The two openers were solid without being flashy as they maintained a decent run-rate of just over 3 runs per over.
Narayan Jagadeesan missed out on a well deserved double hundred by three runs as South Zone reached an imposing first innings score of 536
The 34-year-old Shami last donned the national colours during the ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19, last year.
'Virat and Rohit not playing (Duleep Trophy) was not good for Indian cricket, nor was it good for the two players. Had they played the Duleep Trophy and had some time in the red-ball cricket, things would have been different.'
Spinner Ravindra Jadeja reaped rich dividends for reading the pitch well and grabbed 5 for 95 as India Blue looked all set to win the first-ever day/night Duleep Trophy, having secured a huge 337-run first-innings lead.
Shreyas Iyer has been named captain of the India A squad for the upcoming three-match one-day series against Australia A, starting September 30 in Kanpur.
India all-rounder Shardul Thakur urged Abhimanyu Easwaran and Kuldeep Yadav to show patience and wait for their chances, after they were benched for the entire five-Test series in England.
South Zone took command of their Duleep Trophy semi-final after dismissing Central for a mere 209 and scoring 137 for 2 in reply on the second day of the match, in Chennai, on Friday.
A talented Central Zone team led by Piyush Chawla is aiming to come out firing all cylinders when it squares off with an equally combative South Zone side in the final of the Duleep Trophy, starting in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
South Zone took just 40 minutes into the third morning to crush East Zone by an innings and 118 runs en route their entry into Duleep Trophy final, in Lahli on Friday.
Rishabh Pant last played a Test match in December 2022 before a serious car crash saw him sidelined for nearly two years.
Ian Dev Singh posted a scintillating 145, while Rajat Paliwal and Nitin Saini also scored unbeaten centuries as North Zone amassed a mamoth 591 for eight declared in their first innings against East Zone on the third day of the Duleep Trophy in Kochi on Saturday.
Defending champions North Zone defeated East Zone by a huge margin of 433 runs to enter the final of the Duleep Trophy in Rajkot on Thursday.
Tilak Varma and Riyan Parag led the celebrations as India A won the Duleep Trophy 2024-25 with a thrilling win over India C on Sunday.
'Sometimes it might look wrong in the fans' eyes, but please don't twist things or create narratives that aren't even close to the truth.'
Central Zone's batsmen, led by Robin Bist, were guilty of poor shot selection as they finished on 237 for 7 against South Zone on Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy final, in Delhi, on Wednesday. Bist blew away a chance to register a hundred, getting out for 79 off 153 balls. His three-and-a-half hours' stay at the wicket was studded with 12 sweetly-timed boundaries and a six.
East Zone bowlers led by the seasoned Laxmi Ratan Shukla rattled South Zone in the final hour reducing them to 236 for nine despite Robin Uthappa scoring a well-crafted hundred on the first day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final in Lahli on Wednesday.
The gesture was reminiscent of fan reverence in a similar manner for Gaikwad's Chennai Super Kings teammate and former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Pujara overcame ball sighting problems and hit a crisp 166 before state-mate Sheldon Jackson sent the India Green bowlers on a leather-hunt with Blue team piling up a mammoth 707 in a virtual 'semi-final' of the Duleep Trophy, in Greater Noida on Monday.
He played just two first-class matches.
Fresh from a hard-fought 2-2 draw in England, Shubman Gill's men will be eager to translate their overseas resilience into home dominance.
'I don't have any hopes (about making a comeback to the Indian team).' 'If they pick me, I will try to perform and give my 100 percent.'
'He was always a people's person. Don't forget he had been a Delhi captain in a team that had a lot of big stars, India players. They played under him and he managed them fairly well.'
My body needed rest after England tour, will start bowling from Sunday: Akash Deep
Central Zone top-order batters, led by Danish Malewar, carried the team to 229 for two, giving a solid reply to West Zone on the second day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal
Maharashtra batsman Ankit Bawne scored a gutsy century under pressure as West Zone took a vital 43-run first innings lead against East Zone on the second day of the Duleep Trophy quarter-final in Lahli.
India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara has raised a concerns like "picking the googly", "spotting the seam" while batting against the pink ball under lights during the Duleep Trophy game between India Blue and India Green.
There is a school of thought that having done the hard yards in the England series, Karun Nair deserves an opportunity against a weaker opposition where a century could boost his career.
Only ten overs were possible on the second day of the Duleep Trophy final and, in the brief session post tea, North Zone reduced South to 33 for 2, at the Nehru stadium, in Kochi, on Friday.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav made optimal use of available resources in both departments as India did enough to beat a spirited Oman by 21 runs to end their league stage commitments in Asia Cup with a hat-trick of victories.
Mohammed Shami, who has been out of action since IPL 2025 and is not part of India's ongoing Test tour of England, was named in Bengal's 50-member list of probables for the upcoming domestic season.
Captain Manoj Tiwary led from the front with an unbeaten century as East Zone posted a respectable 278 in their first innings against West Zone on the opening day's play of the four-day Duleep Trophy quarter-final, in Lahli.
This brings us to the question of combination and perhaps Arshdeep could miss out on more games going into the T20 World Cup -- a tournament that will be held in the sub-continent -- India and Sri Lanka.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances