Yuvraj Singh carried on from where he left off as he completed a well-deserved double century to put North in a comfortable position at stumps on the second day of their Duleep Trophy semi-final against Central Zone in Hyderabad.
Suresh Raina has been named captain of the India Blue team for the Duleep Trophy, which will be held in Kanpur and Lucknow from September 7 to 29, providing him a platform to make a return to the Indian team.
Middle-order batsman Baba Indrajith struck a gutsy unbeaten 120 as India Red finished at 291 for 9 against India Blue at stumps on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy encounter, in Lucknow, on Wednesday.
Central will face West Zone in the semi-final at the Alur grounds from July 5. In the second semifinal, North Zone will take on South Zone at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
East Zone kept their date with history as they crushed Central Zone by an innings and 20 runs to win their maiden Duleep Trophy title in an emphatic manner in Indore.
Disciplined show with both bat and ball helped Central Zone qualify for the final of the Duleep Trophy after they took the crucial first-innings lead against defending champions South Zone, on the final day in Chennai.
South Zone pacers were brilliantly bellicose while reducing West Zone to 129 for 7
Age is just a number for uncapped off-spin allrounder Saransh Jain who at 33 years has earned his maiden Test call-up for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour on the back of consistent performances in the domestic circuit and India A.
Central Zone bowlers led by captain Shivam Mavi (4/43) silenced the big guns in the West Zone batting line-up to restrict them to 216 for 8.
Openers Abhinav Mukund and Robin Uthappa bulldozed the North Zone bowlers to script a brilliant run chase as South Zone clinched the Duleep Trophy with a day to spare in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
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.
North East were 65 for 2, 475 runs in arrears, when bad light and rain forced an early closure to their first dig on Thursday.
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.
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.
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.
Akash Deep and Harshit Rana are unlikely to be fit for the upcoming home series against Afghanistan and the white ball tour of United Kingdom as they are still some time away from getting fully match-fit, sources in BCCI said.
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.
Rishabh Pant's fifty, Sarfaraz Khan's aggression give India B control on Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy in Bengaluru on Saturday
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.
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.
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.
Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag has successfully undergone right shoulder surgery in Mumbai and is expected to miss a significant part of the 2026-27 domestic season. He will recuperate at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, focusing on full recovery after a challenging period with injuries.
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.
Ajinkya Rahane, known as 'Jinx', has retired from international cricket at 38, leaving behind a legacy of quiet resolve, exceptional captaincy, and crucial innings that often came when India needed them most.
'Saransh is a very keen observer, he wants to keep learning.' 'He has the skills to be a top off-spinner, the way he releases the ball that is very good.' 'He is also mentally tough because he has played so much of domestic cricket.'
The match ended without even the first innings being completed, and both teams got a point each.
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.
