The 2025 Duleep Trophy semi-finals started on Thursday (September 4). Find the round-up of all the action from day two right here.
Semi-final 1: South Zone v North Zone
South Zone resumed the day at 297-3 after only 81 overs were possible on the first day due to a wet outfield and bad light. They were hit with an early blow when captain Mohammed Azharuddeen fell for 11 to North Zone's Anshul Kamboj. Narayan Jagadeesan, India's reserve wicketkeeper for the final Test of their recent England Test tour, added two runs to his overnight score to reach 150 from 262 balls. He looked set for his third first-class double hundred but fell just three runs short, run out for 197 off 352 balls.
1st Semi-Final, South Zone vs North Zone
vs
South Zone's lower order then chipped in as well. Ricky Bhui scored 54 from 131 balls, and No.8 Tanay Thyagarajan made a patient 116-ball 58. They were finally all out for 536 in 169.2 overs. 2022 Under-19 World Cup-winning spinner Nishant Sindhu was the pick of the North Zone bowlers, finishing with 5-125.
Score at stumps, day two: South Zone 536 (N Jagadeesan 197, Nishant Sindhu 5-125) vs North Zone.
Semi-final 2: West Zone v Central Zone
On day one, a 148-run stand for the sixth wicket between Ruturaj Gaikwad and India A spin-bowling all-rounder Tanush Kotian helped West Zone recover from 179-5. When Gaikwad fell for 184 on the opening day, captain Shardul Thakur got together with Kotian, who registered his 17th first-class half-century to frustrate the Central Zone bowlers.
The duo built on the start on day two, adding 84 runs for the seventh wicket before Thakur was run out for 64 off 98. Kotian soon followed, falling for 76 off 166 balls. West Zone added 75 runs for the last four wickets before being bowled out for 438 in 108 overs.
2nd Semi-Final, West Zone vs Central Zone
vs
- Ball by ball Over
In response, Central Zone started strongly with 21-year-old Ranji Trophy final hero Danish Malewar starring again, scoring 76 following his 203 against North East Zone in the quarter-finals. He has now managed at least one fifty-plus score in each of his last five first-class matches.
Shubham Sharma (60*) and captain Rajat Patidar (47*) then laid a solid platform, helping Central Zone finish the day at 229-2. Patidar batted in his characteristic brisk fashion, smashing eight fours in his 59-ball stay so far. He scored a 96-ball 125 against North East Zone in the previous match.
Score at stumps, day two: West Zone 438 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 184, Harsh Dubey 3-118) vs Central Zone 229-2 (Danish Malewar 76, Arzan Nagwaswalla 1-15)
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.
