Central Zone Advances to Semi-Finals of Duleep Trophy 2025, Facing Off Against West Zone Following a Draw with North East Zone
North East Zone and Central Zone End Duleep Trophy Match in a Draw
In a closely contested Duleep Trophy match, North East Zone and Central Zone could not decide a winner as the game ended in a draw at tea on the final day.
Central Zone had declared their innings at 331/7, setting a daunting target of 679 runs for North East Zone to win. The North East Zone began their chase steadily, with opener R Jonathan making a commendable 60 runs. Jehu Anderson, who made 64 runs, also contributed significantly to the North East Zone's total.
However, the North East Zone's progress was halted as they lost three wickets for just 10 runs, slipping from 176/3 to 186/6. This setback was due in part to the multiple-wicket performance by Harsh Dubey, who castled both Jehu Anderson and Hem Chetri. Aditya Thakare also claimed two important wickets, removing Ashish Thapa for 13 runs and Techi Doria for 15 runs.
Aditya Dubey, the Central Zone bowler, also made a significant impact, picking up two wickets, including that of R Jonathan for 60 runs. Shubham Sharma, another Central Zone bowler, took two wickets in the match, including the crucial wicket of Anderson.
Despite the best efforts of both teams, North East Zone could only manage 200/6 in 58 overs before play was called off after the draw agreement. With this result, Central Zone advances to the Duleep Trophy semi-finals, where they will face West Zone at the CoE from September 4.
This draw means that both teams will have to wait for their semi-final opportunities, with Central Zone looking to build on their strong performance and North East Zone aiming to regroup and come back stronger in their next match.
