Rajat Patidar's magnificent hundred steered Central Zone into a commanding position on day two of the Duleep Trophy 2025 final against South Zone.
Bowling first, Central skittled out South for 149 in their first innings. Spinners Kumar Kartikeya (4-53) and Saransh Jain (5-49) were the wreckers-in-chief.
Rajat Patidar records fourth 50-plus score on the trot
Leading Central’s batting charge, as he has so often this season, was captain Rajat Patidar. After they slipped to 93-3 following a 55-run opening stand, Patidar and Yash Rathod formed a crucial 167-run partnership from 205 balls to build a sizeable lead. Patidar reached his fifty off 73 balls with the help of seven fours. He then accelerated, needing just 39 more balls to bring up his century. He hit a further five fours and two sixes to reach the three-figure mark. He was dismissed three balls later for 101, but by then Central, at 260-4, had already built a lead of over 100 runs.
That moment when Rajat Patidar brought up his 💯, off just 112 balls 🙌
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 12, 2025
The Central Zone captain led from the front and hit a splendid 101(115) 🧢🔥
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/unz0hJ66yE#DuleepTrophy | #Final | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/fwnB0RySSq
Patidar has been in fine nick this tournament, scoring at least a fifty in every innings he has batted, and in his typical brisk fashion. He started with 125 (96) and 66 (72) against North East Zone in the quarter-finals, followed by 77 (84) against West Zone in the semi-finals.
This form dates back to IPL 2025 when he was named RCB captain. This followed a season where he was the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy's second-highest run-getter and led Madhya Pradesh to a runners-up finish. He then lived up to the expectations by leading RCB to their first-ever title.
Patidar made his Test debut for India in February last year and went on to play three matches. However, he failed to make an impact, managing only 63 runs at an average of 10.50. All six of his dismissals came against spin, with Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, and Shoaib Bashir each claiming his wicket twice.
Image credit: BCCI / JioHotstar
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
